Stakeholders from across dairy industry create alliance to support growth in all areas of dairy grazing sector.
November 22, 2024
The new Dairy Grazing Alliance, made up of a diverse group of stakeholders from across the dairy industry dedicated to growing all parts of the dairy grazing sector, was launched Nov. 20 at the Sustainable Agriculture Summit in Minneapolis, Minn., according to an news release.
In late spring of 2024, the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, now housed under the new alliance, brought together more than 35 changemakers from across the U.S. dairy industry, including dairy farmers, technical support organizations, government agencies and financial institutions, among others. The participants agreed that in order to realize the full potential of U.S. dairy grazing, all parts of the value chain must grow. The Dairy Grazing Alliance was identified as the organization to lead this growth toward a more vibrant dairy grazing sector.
Alliance stakeholders will work together to develop new dairy grazing markets and all aspects of the value chain. The organization said it will foster cooperation and inspire innovation and action between farming operations, major consumer product goods brands, research institutions and others.
The Dairy Grazing Alliance will focus on three primary pillars: enhancing the economic viability of managed grazing farms; providing producers with resources, education and technical assistance, and convening dairy grazing stakeholders to build an effective movement for the sector's growth. Alliance stakeholders will work directly on financing, market development, farm profitability, production systems and dairy grazing research, policy and advocacy.
Consumers are increasingly interested in dairy from cows raised on pasture. Globally, the market for grass-fed milk is expected to grow 22.4% in the next 10 years, according to MMR Research. Yet the U.S. dairy grazing sector has not kept pace – it has not scaled in production systems and markets. This will require more investment and development within the dairy industry, education and public policy, the alliance explains on its website.
By aligning players from across the value chain, the alliance will build new markets for dairy produced through managed grazing by increasing the financing, research and technical resources required to scale production for emerging markets. Part of the alliance's work will also be to advocate for and advance continued research studies that showcase the environmental benefits of dairy grazing. Once scaled, managed dairy grazing can be a significant tool in the U.S. dairy industry’s toolbox of effective climate solutions, the announcement said.
"I'm really proud of the incredible work Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship has done since its founding in 2010," said Joe Tomandl, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in central Wisconsin and founder of the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship and Dairy Grazing Alliance. "Dairy Grazing Alliance expands on this work in order to grow the sector as a whole. As consumer demand for pasture-raised dairy intensifies, more attention and investment is needed across the value chain. We're confident the alliance will usher in an exciting new chapter for dairy grazing and dairy grazing farmers."
Dairy Grazing Alliance board president Eric Sheffer added, “As a farmer and a board member of Dairy Grazing Alliance, I'm excited to be part of an organization that has the right people, connections and know-how to make a positive economic and environmental impact. The alliance will help dairy grazing farmers be successful by providing needed services and developing markets that value their capacity to mitigate climate change, regenerate soil health, improve water quality and revitalize rural communities.”
Dairy farming is an important part of rural economies, but new farmers face significant barriers and are not entering the profession at a rate that offsets the loss of retiring producers, while mid-career dairy graziers who seek to expand and improve their business are also faced with a lack of skilled people who can manage a farm, according to the apprenticeship’s website.
As the first formal apprenticeship for farming in the nation, the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship was created by and for farmers to address these challenges by supporting the transfer of farming wisdom from one generation to the next. It is a paid apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Using the model of education that has prepared skilled workers in the trades for more than a century, the apprenticeship combines work-based training with related instruction for the federally recognized occupation of “dairy grazier” – a farmer who uses managed grazing.
Since it was founded in 2010, the apprenticeship reports that it has provided more than 750,000 hours of on-farm training and related coursework in managed grazing dairy production to hundreds of aspiring farmers located in 16 states nationwide, including Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin.
You May Also Like
Enter a zip code to see the weather conditions for a different location.
