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Powering a community by what was once considered waste is not only helping the farm’s sustainability efforts, but it’s also generating additional income. Newtrient offers the following advice when exploring the carbon markets.

Analysis by UC Davis researchers shows continued implementation of California’s incentive-based dairy methane reduction efforts should, by 2030, achieve the full 40% reduction goal.

Through a large presence and emergence of climate-smart practices to reduce its environmental footprint, the dairy industry has set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The implementation of anaerobic digesters, feed additives, energy efficiencies, and regenerative farming techniques on dairy farms are working to reduce greenhouse gases contributed by the dairy sector. Differing from one to the next, every dairy farm has its own individualized needs. Organizations like Newtrient are working to reduce the environmental impact of dairy and make it economically viable to do so through farm-specific assessments, technical assistance, and expert counsel. From these individual recommendations, farmers can consider solutions to further reduce their environmental footprint but also access other revenue streams outside of milk production.

CAFOs under The Clean Water Act is recognized as “point sources” of water pollution. Food and Water Watch wants to restrict the discharges from them into rivers and streams through a more compelling regulatory system.

Dairy farms can generate carbon credits from multiple places, whether by converting to no-till and planting cover crops, putting in a manure digester to cut down on nutrient emissions, making dietary changes to the total mixed ration or feeding more additives to lower enteric emissions (burps) from cows, or by just being more energy efficient or using less fossil fuels. “These are the four areas with the biggest impact,” Boehl said. “These are the all the opportunities for a potential market. Any area where you can reduce carbon is also an area where you can capture carbon credits.”

The Environmental Quality Commission has received a petition for rulemaking to create a dairy air emissions regulatory program. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality invites public comment on whether EQC should direct DEQ to deny the petition, grant the petition and initiate rulemaking proceedings, or pursue another action.

On September 14, 2022, Secretary Vilsack announced USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects under the first pool of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity. According to the USDA, this new program will expand markets for America’s climate-smart commodities, leverage the greenhouse gas benefits of climate-smart commodity production, and provide direct, meaningful benefits to production agriculture, including for small and underserved producers.

Traditional wastewater treatment is energy-intensive and generates around 5 percent of all greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG). In comparison, vermifiltration requires almost no electricity, thereby reducing GHG emissions by 91 percent. Astoundingly, earthworms remove more than 80 percent of nitrites in wastewater and reduce methane emissions by an even higher percentage.

The agri-tech company says its technology holds the key to locally-made, sustainable fertilizer, which could free farmers from their dependence on expensive chemical alternatives.

With the drive to become carbon neutral by 2050, America’s dairy farms bring more than milk to the market. They are looking to exchange carbon credits for dollars. The Caballeros milk 5,200 cows in a 72-cow rotary and anticipate generating 214 MMBtu of renewable natural gas daily from their manure digester.