Friday, August 26, 2022
CapitalPress.com 9
Study: Dairy farming practices can store carbon, reduce emissions
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
A new study from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison has found
that many farming practices asso-
ciated with organic dairies can help
store carbon and reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
The peer-reviewed study, pub-
lished in the August issue of the
Journal of Cleaner Production,
found that several practices that are
common on organic dairy farms,
including giving cows more time on
pasture, can boost carbon sequestra-
tion in the soil and reduce overall
emissions.
The study included life cycle
assessments of organic dairies
across the U.S. A life cycle assess-
ment involves analyzing the envi-
ronmental aspects associated with a
product over its life cycle, including
inputs and outputs — for instance,
what feed goes in and what waste
goes out.
This method, said lead researcher
Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, can
Organic Valley
A dairy cow at Jon Bansen’s Organic Valley farm.
“quantify the environmental impacts
of a product, service or system.”
The researchers found the
organic dairy farms that were stud-
ied — members of Organic Valley,
a national dairy cooperative — emit-
ted 0.94 kilograms of carbon dioxide
equivalent per kilogram of fat-and-
protein-corrected milk, a measure of
carbon footprint.
This is a 24% reduction in green-
house gas emissions compared to
the average American dairy, a per-
centage calculated by comparing the
new study to a previous life cycle
assessment representing the U.S.
dairy industry as a whole, published
in the International Dairy Journal. It
found that dairies on average emit
1.23 kg of carbon dioxide per kilo-
gram of milk. In reality, it’s not a
perfect apples-to-apples compari-
son, said Aguirre-Villegas, because
the earlier study was done by diff er-
ent researchers using diff erent meth-
odologies, but the previous research
is a “useful point of reference.”
What is clear from the new study,
said Aguirre-Villegas, is that certain
management techniques on dairy
farms do reduce emissions and cre-
ate a smaller environmental impact.
These practices include giving
cows regular access to pasture, using
minimal inputs, building healthy for-
ages and pastures with well-devel-
oped root systems that store more
carbon below ground, using a dry
manure management system, using
only organic fertilizers and grow-
ing most feed on the farm rather than
importing it.
These practices are not exclusive
to organic dairies.
Nicole Rakobitsch, Organic
Valley’s director of sustainabil-
ity, said the study’s exploration
of carbon sequestration could be
useful to both organic and con-
ventional dairy farms.
Aguirre-Villegas, the researcher,
agreed that the study could prove
useful to both conventional and
organic dairies. Organic operations
tend to already use more of these
low-input,
low-carbon-footprint
practices, he said, but the study’s
fi ndings are broadly applicable.
“Any farm can really adopt good
practices to reduce their emissions,”
he said.
Although Organic Valley’s farms
appear to already have a small-
er-than-average carbon footprint
compared to other dairies, Rako-
bitsch, of the co-op, said the com-
pany aims to continue improving by
incentivizing its members to adopt
environmentally friendly practices.
In a recent panel discussion, Jon
Bansen, a farmer with Organic Val-
ley, said he believes that adopting
these practices has both improved
his bottom line and helped the
environment.
“You can only be environmen-
tally sustainable if you’re fi nancially
stable to begin with,” he said.
Owyhee Cattlemen’s Association gets a new president
the land can
support.
Hoag-
land will be
the associa-
tion’s presi-
dent for one
Rex
year. Other
board mem- Hoagland
bers include
Jake Steiner of Oreana, vice
president; and Oscar Evans
of Homedale, past president.
Many association mem-
bers now have years of
experience with ranch-
ing practices that help sus-
tain rangeland resources
for the long term. Hoag-
land sees an opportunity
to show land management
agencies the value of those
practices. Agency manag-
ers could use that infor-
mation in making manage-
ment decisions.
He said he supports “the
ability to use abundant
grass more.” For example,
extending the time on some
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Rex Hoagland brings
41 years of cattle and beef
industry experience to his
new role as the Owyhee
Cattlemen’s Association
board president.
During that time span,
ranching practices became
more sustainable, carcass
weights increased, and pro-
cessors’ effi ciency and san-
itary practices improved
greatly, he said.
“I don’t want to see
our way of life go away,”
Hoagland said. “It’s an old
way of life that, without it,
people don’t eat.”
Members of the Mars-
ing, Idaho-based associa-
tion are passionate about
raising high-quality ani-
mals and have done well
at sticking together to sup-
port their industry and way
of life, he said. They man-
age herds based on what
Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission
Cattle graze in Owyhee County, Idaho.
public-land grazing sites
during this year’s unusu-
ally wet spring could have
reduced fi re fuel loads in
addition to benefi ting cattle.
The U.S. Bureau of Land
Management in recent years
has provided more opportu-
nity for targeted grazing,
which aims to reduce fuel
loads. Hoagland said this
could be expanded by BLM
and other agencies.
The
approximately
100-member
association
historically advocates for
adequate grazing rights
and aff ordable fees on pub-
lic land. It supports keep-
ing rights and leases with a
ranch when it’s sold.
While oversight of gov-
ernment grazing leases
is benefi cial, “we need to
allow the ranchers to man-
age their allotments to the
best of their abilities,” said
Hoagland.
He said the association
and others in the industry
are exploring an idea to tie
fees and grazing density to
the quality of a year’s grass
crop and the effi ciency at
which cattle gain weight. A
challenge involves weighing
animals over time as they
move among jurisdictions.
Hoagland is director of
cattle procurement for CS
Packers, a large beef-pro-
cessing plant in Kuna. He
July milk production up 0.2%
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
DAIRY
MARKETS
U
.S. milk production
is recovering slowly
— very slowly. The
Agriculture Department’s
latest data show July output
hit 19.14 billion pounds, up
just 0.2% from July 2021,
and the fi rst gain since
October 2021. The 24-State
July total came in at 18.3
billion pounds, up 0.3%.
Revisions lowered the
50-State June estimate by
45 million pounds to 18.93
billion, 0.1% below a year
ago instead of the 0.5%
increase originally reported.
July cow numbers
totaled 9.416 million, up
1,000 head from June num-
bers, which were revised
down 8,000 head. The July
herd was down 67,000 from
July 2021.
Output per cow averaged
2,033 pounds, up 19 pounds
or 0.9% from July 2021.
June output per cow was
revised down 3 pounds, to
2,011 pounds.
California cows put
3.52 billion pounds of milk
in the tank, up 77 million
pounds or 2.2% from a year
ago. Cow numbers were up
4,000 while output per cow
jumped 40 pounds. Wis-
consin cows produced 2.72
billion pounds, down 7 mil-
lion or 0.3%. Cow num-
bers were down 6,000 but
output per cow was up 5
pounds from a year ago.
Idaho was up 1.5% on a
25-pound gain per cow and
2,000 more cows. Michi-
gan was down 3.8%, Min-
nesota was down 1.1%,
Lee
Mielke
and New Mexico was
down 8.1% on a 32,000
cow drop. It was second
only to Florida, which had
the biggest decline, down
11.4%.
New York was
unchanged, Oregon was
up 0.9% on 1,000 more
cows. Output per cow was
unchanged. Pennsylva-
nia was off 0.9%. South
Dakota showed the biggest
gain, up 13.1%, thanks to
20,000 more cows and a
10-pound gain per cow.
Texas was up 6.0%.
Washington state was
down 2.9% on 9,000 fewer
cows, but output per cow
was up 10 pounds.
dependable, hardworking, trustworthy
Butter stocks down
U.S. butter stocks
headed lower in July and
remained well below a
year ago. The latest Cold
Storage report put the
July 31 inventory at 314.4
million pounds, down
16.4 million or 5% from
June’s inventory, which
was revised down 1 mil-
lion pounds. Stocks were
down 82.1 million pounds
or 20.7% from a year ago,
the 10th consecutive month
they fell short of the previ-
ous year.
American type cheese
stocks climbed to 859.9 mil-
lion pounds, up 13.1 million
pounds or 1.6% from June,
and were 42.3 million or
5.2% above a year ago.
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manages his family’s Walk-
ing Plow Ranch, which runs
80 head of mother cows in
the Guff y area of Owyhee
County.
He and his wife, Karen,
and son J.D. last spring
acquired a Homedale busi-
ness they renamed Hoagland
Meat. It provides custom kill
and processing services, and
sells prime and choice cuts
at retail. Products of the
USDA-inspected business
can cross state lines.
Hoagland Meat’s good
early start refl ects strong
demand for high-quality
beef sourced locally, Rex
Hoagland said.
He is optimistic about
cattle prices over the next
three to four years, bar-
ring another COVID-19-
like disruption or major
plant closure. Factors
include supply-reducing
high input costs and con-
struction of more process-
ing plants.