Dairy farmers have been sustainable for generations. In honor of Earth Week, meet some of our region’s 10,000 dairy farm families who are dedicated to caring for cows and producing milk while taking care of the planet — on Earth Day and every day.
Dairy farmers and environmental conservation go hand in hand.
Preserving the environment is a “must” at Red Sunset Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania. Dairy farmers Dave and Marie Graybill have taken many steps to protect water quality, reduce energy use and support pollinators!
Neighbor relations and the environment.
The McMahon brothers take their roles as stewards of their neighbors’ drinking water seriously. Their E-Z Acres farm in Homer, New York, is a model for environmental and economic sustainability.
Recycling food waste
The farm that recycled the butter from the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show Butter Sculpture regularly recycles food waste. Reinford Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, recycles 6,000 to 12,000 gallons of food waste daily and has kept more than 35,000 tons of waste out of landfills in the past 10 years–avoiding the equivalent of 133 million pounds of carbon dioxide that would otherwise have been released to the atmosphere.
Recycling for the benefit of Cows and Planet.
The sand that serves as bedding for cows at Mercer Vu Farms in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, is cleaned of manure and reused, with the separated manure reused as valuable fertilizer for crops.
Upcycling Water
Water is a vital resource on dairy farms. An individual cow alone drinks about 35 gallons of water a day! Water is also needed to wash the milking parlor, clean the barn and milking parlor, and more! Thanks to recycling practices, every gallon of milk produced in 2017 used 35% less water.
