Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative is getting up to $50 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its Climate-Smart project. USDA created a Climate-Smart imitative to help farmers implement sustainability projects. These projects reduce their carbon footprint, document the improvements, and demonstrate value in the supply chain.
Edge is spearheading the project, Farmer-led Climate Smart Commodities Initiative: Building Success from the Ground Up. It involves 14 partners and dozens of supporting entities. The initiative goes beyond dairy to involve other commodities, such as sugar from beets.
This project will help farmers determine what climate-smart production practices are most effective for their farms. And, it’ll provide tools to document the environmental and financial effects, explains Lauren Brey. Brey is the director of sustainability at Edge and the Dairy Business Association.
“Customers want assurances that the food they buy is being produced in a way that’s sensitive to the environment,” she explains. “Demonstrating this starts at the farm but also has implications for businesses throughout the supply chain. We are excited to have a greater opportunity through the USDA grant to empower our farmers.”
Brey says enrollment details are coming within the next six months for any interested farmer.
