Dairy farmers throughout Wisconsin and the world know that healthy cows can only come from a healthy environment, and they have long been committed to doing what they can to ensure the environment is healthy for generations to come.
According to Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW), producing a gallon of milk today releases 19% less greenhouse gas emissions than it did in 2007. That’s equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by half a million acres of U.S. forests every year. As a whole, U.S. dairy farmers are committed to reducing their carbon footprint even further as part of the dairy industry’s initiative to become carbon neutral or better by 2050.
Helping the cause is Wisconsin’s rich bioenergy opportunity. According to Renew Wisconsin, with the manure from our dairy farms plus the food waste from vegetable canneries and grocery stores, Wisconsin has the potential to produce as much as 6% of our energy needs from biogas. This helps create that additional source of energy but also removes food waste from landfills and manure from our farms.
Renew Wisconsin says “Inside the biodigester, bugs eat the manure and organic wastes, leaving a biogas product that is similar to natural gas, and can be used either to produce electricity or to replace natural gas in a pipeline for use in Wisconsin homes and businesses.”
In addition to the biofuel potential, Wisconsin’s dairy farmers are environmental stewards in other ways. Read on to hear some stories right from the farmers themselves.
Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, Kewaunee
After Jamie Pagel Witcpalek lost her dad and husband in 2018, she and her brothers work together to fill their Dad’s shoes. Their dad always told them “You take care of the land, you take care of your cows, you take care of the people, they’ll in turn take care of you” and the siblings strive to live up to that advice. They treat their farm like an ecosystem with their cow’s manure becoming fuel, bedding, and nutrients for the crops they grow to feed their cows! Inspired by their father’s idea of “turning poop into power,” the farm plans to be net-zero by 2025!
Feltz Family Farms, Stevens Point
Located along the Little Plover River Restoration area, the Feltz Family Farm works with their neighbors to improve the quantity of water available and to keep the quality pristine. As a multi-use recreational area and an important water source in the area, Ken Feltz and his family care for their land, community, and dairy farm equally. They practice composting and have built a farmstead dairy store to allow the inclusion of their next generation in the family business.
Heller Farms, Alma Center
Cody Heller grew up on this farm and is now helping take the business into the future. They work to protect the environment by focusing on air, water, and soil quality. In addition to processing their cow manure into fuel, bedding, and nutrients, they are also adding a solar project to their facilities. Their big “aha” moment came when they realized they could still grow a crop within the footprint of the solar panels, reducing the amount of land lost to the project. By incorporating GPS technology into their tractors, they have been able to reduce inputs by increasing efficiency. For planning for the future, they ask themselves “what other practices are going to be more sustainable and how do we set ourselves up for those?”
For these three farms and many more throughout the state, Cody Heller says it best, “We’re redefining our industry!” Learn more about Wisconsin Dairy Farms and their sustainability practices at www.wisconsindairy.org/Our-Farms/Sustainability.
— Taylor Schaefer is the 75th Alice in Dairyland, Wisconsin’s agriculture ambassador who works with media professionals to educate consumers about the importance of agriculture to Wisconsin’s economy and way of life. She can be reached at taylor.schaefer@
wisconsin.gov.
