S Is For Sustainability

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z throughout June Dairy Month.

So come on in...the barn doors are open!

  S Is For Sustainability

I feel confident we have all heard of the three R's of the environment: reduce, reuse, and recycle. For example, I take my reusable shopping bags to the store rather than use paper or plastic, and my family uses cloth napkins rather than paper napkins, and we make a concentrated effort to fill our recycling bin rather than our trash bin. But, as you know, there’s more to conserving the environment than this. We as dairy farmers know that consumers, just like us, are increasingly considering sustainability when making food choices for their family.

What does sustainability mean? It’s about taking what we need to live now, without jeopardizing the potential for people in the future to meet their needs.

With the ever increasing population and the diminishing of natural resources, dairy farmers recognize the importance of producing safe, nutrient rich dairy foods efficiently and responsibly.

 

We, at Bremer Farms, feel a personal responsibility to protecting the environment. We believe that a healthy body and a healthy environment go hand in hand. Farmers are steadily doing more with less to be good stewards of the earth. It is our duty, through good citizenship, to continue to make changes on our dairy farm to reach our goal of improved sustainability.

Here are a few things we are doing at Bremer Farms...

Re-using water – first it is pumped out of the ground and used to cool the milk as it leaves the cow and goes into the bulk tank. Then, it is put into use for the cows to drink.  

Energy-efficient lighting – most barns and milking parlors are now equipped with energy efficient lighting that in most cases, dramatically reduces electricity demands on our farm. 

Manure use – manure is a natural byproduct of owning cattle, we put it to good use by using it as a natural fertilizer on our fields. 

 

When it comes to sustainability, we are all in this together. My family and I will continue to bring our reusable shopping bags to the store. We will still use cloth napkins. Filling our recycling bins rather than our trash cans will always be a concern to us. But as dairy farmers, we have also made a commitment to contribute to making the world more sustainable through our farming practices and our cow care.

My family and I live by the motto, “leave this world a little better than you found it”. We became farmers because of our love for our land and animals. What better way to show this love than to respect our natural resources? 

 You may also want to read my previous years posts for June Dairy Month...

S Is For Smoothie 

and

S Is For Stories