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Dairy Feed in Focus adding more farms

The Nature Conservancy is expanding its sustainability incentive project centered on dairy feed management.

Joel Leland with The Nature Conservancy in Michigan tells Brownfield the goal of the Dairy Feed in Focus program is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on dairy farms.

“We can introduce and incentivize feed additives, which will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from those cows being fed the additives,” he shares.  “We can also help with management practices and getting different feed management plans written or nutrient management plans.”

The Nature Conservancy has been partnering with a select number of Michigan and Wisconsin dairy farms since 2021 to study feed management strategies that reduce methane emissions in dairy cows.

“A lot of the practices that we’re incentivizing do come with the benefit of helping nutrient and sediment loss on farm fields and help protect water quality,” he says.  “Practices like cover crops and buffer strips also help increase biodiversity on the farm.”

Leland says the program next year will include more practices; more farms in Michigan and Wisconsin; and expand into Idaho. 

Nestlé USA is funding the incentives in all three states, and Rotary International District 6310 is sponsoring incentives for several farms in Michigan. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, Institute for Feed Education and Research, Syngenta, USDA, Foremost Farms, and Michigan Milk Producers Association are also partners in the project.

Enrollment for 2024 is expected to start this September.