PDP

We know that U.S. dairy producers are the most productive and sustainable in the world. But our global customers want proof of our commitment to environmental sustainability and continuous improvement. Retaining U.S. dairy’s strong position as a preferred global supplier requires measuring and reducing the environmental impact of producing dairy products. Farm-level strategies will help the U.S. dairy community remain competitive in both domestic and export markets.

Your farm is your livelihood. The PDP farmer board believes farmers shouldn’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. There is no downside to getting your baseline environmental farm footprint score now. Knowing your score allows you to be more informed and puts you in the driver’s seat of any decision to make changes that impact your farm and to help shape this discussion for the industry.

Farmers who participated in the pilot were shocked at how easy it was to get their scores, especially when they had field data, and nutrient management and production records available. Participants reported they had most of the needed data readily available. Once the third party receives all of the necessary data from the farm, it takes 45-60 business days to receive completed reports. They also found it interesting to learn how the Cool Farm Tool and FARM ES worked and how their current practices impacted their scores.

Up to 90% of the program cost for the first 500 acres is covered by program sponsors through this initiative. Individual grants are capped at $4,750. The remaining cost to individual farmers varies by farm size. If you are interested in knowing how this works with your individual farm, please enter your information in the calculator below.

The Cool Farm Tool modeling, for example, takes into consideration your farm location, soil type, crop rotation, energy use, nutrient management, milk production, cow numbers, field yields and other farm-specific data. Dairy farmers who participated in the first pilot found they had most of the data about current practices readily available in their routine recordkeeping. They were surprised how quickly they could provide the data and learn how their farm’s footprint was measured and know their score.

Your data and reports are private and will not be shared unless you choose to do so. The only data shared will be aggregated data from all participants so that it can serve as a benchmark in the peer group discussions to help farmers see how their farm compares to similar dairies participating in the program.

A third-party expert will schedule a follow-up call to walk you through the report, answer any questions and discuss how specific management practices could be implemented to impact your score. You’ll also be invited to a peer group of fellow dairy producers for further discussion, brainstorming and learnings about on-farm score improvements.

Our vision through this unique farmer-led approach is to help every dairy farmer know their farm’s environmental footprint scores and have a continuous improvement plan. Farmers have repeatedly told us they learn best from other farmers. PDP will offer peer group opportunities where farmers can discuss with other farmers the findings and share best practices in a safe and confidential environment. Peer groups will learn together, keeping in mind that every operation is different and practices that work for one farmer may not be practical for another. No individual farm data will be shared, only aggregated data for comparative and benchmarking purposes. Peer groups will be structured to include diverse members from different areas.