Bel Brands USA and Dairy Farmers of America Release Results of Sustainable Milk Cooling Pilot Project
Bel Brands USA and Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) – a national dairy cooperative of farm families – are proud to announce the results of their sustainable milk cooling pilot program launched last year. With the changing climate impacting everything from crop production to animal health, it is more important than ever to invest in innovative new ways to improve on-farm sustainability practices and reduce farms' environmental footprint.
Last year, Bel Brands and DFA partnered to support the adoption of energy-efficient and cost-effective on-farm milk cooling methods. This included new natural well water and forced air barn cooling systems installed on a DFA-member dairy farm in Iowa that supplies milk to Bel Brands.
Over the 12 months, the use of these cooling methods resulted in a 6% reduction in electricity used on the dairy, while milk production increased 4%. Moreover, the addition of new sand bedding on the dairy also enabled farmers to spend less time on their tractors. This led to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), as CO2e were reduced by 58 tons during this time. These findings are important to informing future best standards for dairy farming, especially during seasonal spikes in energy use.