Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance: Reflection on our year in sustainability

The Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance (DSSA), which celebrated its one-year anniversary last month, traces back to a particularly inspiring meeting at the 2016 Dairy Strong conference in Madison.

In a full room, DBA and a host of others vowed to create a sustainability concept that touched all aspects of the dairy community. At the table were people like Steve Richter from The Nature Conservancy, Nancy Kavazanjian from U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, Jeff Endres from Yahara Pride Farms and Steve Peterson, formerly of General Mills. DBA Executive Director Tim Trotter directed the discussion.

And the idea took root – bring together a diverse group of partners to work on improving practices on farms and in other segments of dairy.

I joined the DBA team a couple months later in a new role as director of industry relations. (I had been managing the Dairy Strong Conference as a contractor for the organization.) Admittedly, I was new to the sustainability scene. But I was charged with developing a program that made sense for farmers and the dairy community.

And so I spent my time researching, meeting with environmental leaders, learning the landscape and reading… lots of reading. By June of 2016, we had a draft business plan and, together with our trusted working group, officially launched the DSSA that August at a news conference.

Sustainability means different things to different people. To DSSA, it means continuous improvement. Be better today than you were last year – strive to be better next year than you are now. Better for your animals, your land, your community. Anecdotally, we know this is already the mantra of many successful Feature Story farmers, but now we have a mechanism to measure it and track our progress.

In a time where farmers are often on the defensive, the DSSA represents an offensive and proactive way of thinking. DBA believes that being involved with the DSSA will keep the food system sustainable, give our communities and customers even more reason to support us, and convince lawmakers and regulators to work with us and not against us.

John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, put it this way in a recent article, “Processors and farms should reconsider every aspect of production through the lens of ecological sustainability. Excellent work is underway but consumers question the sustainability of modern dairy farms. This is a battle for values that the dairy industry can win, because dairy farms can be beautifully, proudly sustainable.”

Because dairy can be beautifully and proudly sustainable. Take a minute to think about that.

In the past year, we have been busy. The scale is large – larger than any other agriculture sustainability movement in the state right now, and possibly ever. But during this year, we have learned that patience is a core virtue. Projects take time to design: The people involved must be ready to join the movement. Consensus must be reached, often delicately. It takes time, follow-up and in some cases, convincing.

 I’m excited about year two. I have a few things on my wish list, including increased expertise in environmental science, agroecology and metrics. I’d also like to see production and processing do a better job of uniting (again, to borrow from John Umhoefer) and I think sustainability is the most likely place for that to occur.

I promise to keep you informed about what’s happening. If you want to learn more about projects in your area or how to start one, please contact me at 608-577-4345.

Why DBA is involved

Legislative policy: Involvement with farmer-led watersheds has helped build relationships with legislators. Regulations have their place, but collaborative solutions are leading to faster (voluntary) improvements.

Member value: Many of the farmer-led groups supported by the DSSA are DBA members. We show them value and in exchange we see loyalty. For farmers who are not DBA members, supporting their localized projects is proving to be an excellent recruiting tool.

Environment: Projects supported by the DSSA document how specific farming practices make positive changes. Long-term, the projects provide hope and assurance that agriculture’s environmental challenges are being addressed.

Customer trust: Public relations assistance from the DSSA has led to more well-rounded media coverage in volatile areas of the state. Local news outlets rely heavily on scientifically-sound information generated by DSSA projects.