Dairy farmers preserve and protect our region’s iconic working landscape—its rolling hills, farmhouses, barns, and silos—for residents and tourists as well as agriculture.
These farmers continue a tradition of environmental stewardship while implementing sustainable innovations that benefit the environment and the dairy herd.
A Few Dairy Cool New England Sustainability Facts:
In Massachusetts, 29,000 acres of recreational space is protected by dairy farmers.
Dairy farms in Rhode Island help to preserve 500 acres of land — that’s more land than Rhode Island’s most popular state park.
Dairy farmers use many practices to prevent soil erosion in agriculture-like planting cover crops and manure injection-keeping nutrients in the ground and out of our waterways.
In New Hampshire, 4,420 acres of cover crops planted last year will retain over 26 tons of vital nutrients in the soil to grow crops in future years.
In Vermont, 26,000 acres of cover crops planted last year will retain over 150 tons of vital nutrients in the soil to grow crops in future years.
There are several innovative ways dairy farmers reuse manure. A few examples below:
A Connecticut dairy farmer invented CowPots – a biodegradable planting pot made from cow poo.
There are 16 manure digesters on VT dairy farms, more per capita than any other state. That’s enough energy to power more than 4,000 VT homes annually.
Dairy farmers use manure as a natural fertilizer for their fields. They may also compost it and sell it to local businesses like vegetable farms, flower nurseries or the general public.
Get a 360 degree view of a VT dairy farm and learn about about some of the techniques and technologies dairy farmers are using to protect our soil and water.
