Bel Brands announces partnership with Dairy Farmers Of America to pilot sustainable milk cooling program

CHICAGO, 05 August 2021: Bel Brands USA is pleased to announce a new program in partnership with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) a national dairy cooperative of farm families to implement and measure sustainable cooling practices designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by cutting on-farm energy usage.

Crop production and animal health are critical to the health of the people and the planet, and the changing climate can have impacts on both. Addressing these impacts requires investment in farm animal innovation to reduce the environmental footprint of each step of the production process. 

Bel and DFA, who joined forces to help improve on-farm practices, have identified an opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint on dairy farms by integrating more energy-efficient and economically viable milk cooling systems in line with the Net Zero Initiative (NZI), an industry-wide effort led by the Innovation Center for US Dairy.

Throughout the 12-month pilot program, Bel and DFA will support the adoption of energy-efficient and cost-effective on-farm milk cooling methods, including natural well water cooling methods, by a dairy farm in Iowa that supplies milk to Bel Brands; with Bel co-financing the cooling mechanism. As a secondary benefit, the warm well water used to cool the milk will be fed to the cows at their preferred temperature.

The farm will work with DFA's sustainability team to capture data on the energy and economic savings of the innovative sustainable milk cooling practices compared to the high-energy flash chillers, with the goal of replicating these practices on other U.S. dairy farms in the future, if proven successful.

Bill Graham, CEO, Bel Brands USA said "At Bel Brands, we are actively working to promote sustainable farming, including responsible dairy production – and have for over 15 years – to help drive a more sustainable and regenerative agriculture industry."

The findings of the program will ultimately help inform future best practices for dairy farm sustainability throughout the supply chain, specifically management and mitigation practices to help address the seasonal spike in energy use without compromising cow care.

Image credit: dairyindustries.com