We’re building the tomorrow we want to see.
Pioneering is just in our DNA. Take a look at what we’re doing.
Royal Knoll Farm
Regenerative Agriculture Program
We kicked off our Regenerative Agriculture Program in 2019. It’s voluntary and open to all our farmer partners. The program gives farmers one-on-one support to develop short-term and long-term sustainability goals for their individual farms and unique conditions. The focus is on in-person, hands-on learning from peers and industry experts, so farmers can take what they learn back to their own farms.
Program participation
- 60% of our milk volume
- Over 54,000 acres and over 700 pastures
- Over 23,000 milking cows and over 41,000 total cows
Fair Hill Farms
Program participation includes
- An in-depth field-level sustainability analysis for each farm
- A customized Sustainable Improvement Plan for each farm
- A dedicated team to answer sustainability questions
- Educational sessions and resources
- Third-party data collection through EcoPractices
- Reporting on soil health, soil erosion, and manure application
- Reporting on management practice impacts
- Up to 100% funding for on-farm projects that promote carbon reduction and regenerative agriculture
Willow Creek
On-farm projects
Yay for solar
Solar panels installed by the Deichmann family at Willow Creek Farms in New York provide 34,667 kilowatt hours of power, reducing electricity demand by 24%. This is the equivalent of keeping 22 metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year. LED lighting in the barn also helps reduce on-farm energy use.
Nature Ridge
Organic Dairy
Organic Dairy
Big water savings
In Idaho, where Nature Ridge Organic Dairy is located, water conservation is key. A water system installed at the dairy farm helps them stretch their water. The system starts with clean water, used for cleaning the milking equipment. Then that water is recycled and used to clear manure from the barn floor. Finally, the water is held in a manure storage area before being used a third time to irrigate the surrounding crop fields. This project saves 40,000 gallons of water every single day!
Zimba Dairy
Composting manure
Ed and Melanie Zimba, of Zimba Dairy in Michigan, built a covered manure storage building and purchased special equipment that allows them to compost the manure that comes from their cows. Once it’s composted, it’s used as fertilizer for the field that grows feed for the dairy, bringing the cycle full-circle.
Fair Hill Farm
Zapping weeds
Tilling, or turning over soil, can be an effective way to help control weeds without using herbicides. But it can release trapped carbon from the soil, disturb the soil microbiome, and it takes fuel to do. That’s why Fair Hill Farms in Maryland is experimenting with new technology like the weed zapper. The zapper uses an electric current, instead of tilling, to kill unwanted weeds.
