03/26/08 Dairy sustainability

A big topic these days in the dairy industry is sustainability. The Chairman of the National Dairy Board Les Hardesty says that Dairy Management Inc is looking into the industry's carbon footprint. HARDESTY "DMI has taken it upon themselves to find a baseline for where the entire dairy industry is at currently with our carbon footprint and take a look at our practices what we're doing. The carbon footprint that we have today clear through the processing plants, the transportation and delivering that milk to the consumer." Hardesty says after that baseline is established the real dairy industry changes can start taking place. Example; using cold water instead of hot helps the environment and saves the producer money. Putting maximum units on a truck for shipment from the farm to a plant or from the plant to the consumer saves money and eventually that benefits the consumer. HARDESTY "We can figure out new ways of doing things that are not only environmentally friendly but can save us money down on the farm. So many opportunities out there for innovative ideas, innovative new ways, new approaches of doing things that all relate back to sustainability." That baseline report is expected sometime this summer. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott