At this year’s CheeseExpo, an all-star cast of dairy processors got together to talk sustainability. One question that moderator Michel Wattiaux, professor of dairy systems management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, asked all panelists to weigh in on was about whether the dairy farming communities that they’re working with are leaning into sustainability—seeing it as a win-win rather than a win-lose.
In many cases, the farmers are ahead of the processors in terms of the work they’ve been doing to protect their land, ensure the health of their animals, and provide a sustainable future in farming. But the panelists saw a variety of issues that need to be addressed, nonetheless.
“When you supply milk to Hilmar, you’re in the cheese and whey business. And we do like to share with our farmers…how we engage with our customers and what our customers are asking of us. So our dairy farmers are also aware of, from a customer demand, what’s coming down the pipeline,” said Kyle Jensen, vice president of global sales and marketing at Hilmar Cheese. “There is a level of engagement that exists inherently—whether it be food safety or quality or animal care, and certainly today, GHGs and sustainability. In many cases, the dairy farmers are already ahead of us.”
Though he feels that dairy farmers are already starting to lean into sustainability, there is more that can be done in terms of data collection, says Shane Reynolds, senior vice president of commercial operations for Milk Specialties Global. “I do think there is work for the processing and dairy industry as a whole to explain to dairy farmers why they should lean in harder—that this is a really good opportunity for them to take some power in terms of how they market their milk,” he said.
Land O’Lakes is seeing perspectives across the spectrum, according to Erica McDougall, sustainability manager – dairy foods, and Shaina Ashare, senior manager of member relations dairy – sustainability and member services. “We have many members who have leaned in and continue to lean in, and those first members have been doing things for generations,” McDougall said. “I think where we see some of the weariness is in measurement capabilities—making sure that we’re continuing to streamline things for our members and making sure that the paperwork burden is lessened. And also making sure that any sustainability projects we’re wanting to do in partnership, that it has a financial sustainability component as well.”
