Protecting Where Your Food Comes From With Climate-Friendly Dairy
Small organic family farms are helping the environment in a big way by protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of organic farmland across the country. This land provides more than a place to produce nutritious, delicious food. It is home to plants, animals, birds and diverse habitats. By supporting small organic family farms you help support a healthy planet!
Climate Action
Our Low Carbon Hoofprint
Organic Valley’s national dairy farms’ average greenhouse gas emissions are 24% lower than conventional U.S. dairy averages! The main reason is this: Organic agriculture as a whole, and our farms in particular, embrace the use of pastures for grazing and outdoor access, and that pasture-based approach helps sequester carbon under the soil. We’re working to reverse the effects of climate change, and we’re not stopping there.
We are dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint and intend to be carbon neutral by 2050. More trees, improved manure management, renewable energy, agroforestry and enhanced grazing and cropland practices will help us reach our goal. We are tracking our carbon footprint year after year. View our 2023 Impact Report to learn more.
Climate-Friendly Farming
The co-op takes climate care seriously! The Organic Valley Carbon Insetting Program incentivizes and assists farmers in implementing regenerative, climate-smart farming practices like planting regional trees and composting. This will help the co-op reach carbon neutrality without a reliance on carbon offsetting — purchasing external carbon credits — as many companies do. Over the next five years alone, about 500 Organic Valley farmer-members will work to implement more than 1,000 climate-smart farming practices!
Commitment to Sustainability
Our farmers rely on generations of farming wisdom, combined with the latest science on regenerative agriculture, to make food that’s good for you and the planet. Finding ways to fight against climate change is the right thing to do. From keeping harmful chemicals off the land to planting thousands of trees, our farmers will continue to work with nature, not against it. We aim to be leaders in sustainable organic food production and work toward a better future for all. (And Our climate-friendly programs are already winning awards!).
We are pioneering carbon insetting - even winning awards for it - but what even is carbon? Let us Explain...
The Goodness of Grazing Cows and the Power of Pasture
Organic Valley farmers understand the importance of getting the cows out of the barn and onto pasture — plots of land for grazing. It’s good for animals and the earth! Cows benefit from spending their days munching away on nutritious greens and well-managed pasture eliminates the need for tilling the ground. All this green goodness pulls carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in the soil. The more grassy pastures there are, the less CO2 in the environment! Pasture also provides habitat for insects, birds and plants. Organic dairy, done right, is part of the climate solution and not the climate crisis.
Our communities are losing small organic family farms at a rapid rate, and we have seen that when organic farms go away, they are gone forever. With your help, we can create a positive ripple effect that benefits organic farms and the entire ecosystem!
Organic farming fights against the effects of climate change like increased temps. Cheers to that!
When you purchase organic cheese and dairy products you can feel good about your choice. Our small organic family farms are doing their part to reduce the effects of climate change.
Since our beginning in 1988, our cooperative members (which today number more than 1,600 organic family farms) have been dedicated to organic farming founded on the principles of doing what is good for the earth, without the use of harmful chemicals.
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