An Oregon farm is the first west of the Mississippi to receive the Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability Award from the Innovation Center for US Dairy.
Oregon’s 250,000 dairy cows produce a lot of milk, but they produce even more of something else – manure. Rickreall Dairy west of Salem was chosen for the award based on its collaborative efforts with other local farmers and food processors to increase efficiency and decrease waste. Wynn Matthews with the Oregon Department of Agriculture says Rickreall Dairy reflects the state industry’s values.
“Each of these dairies comes up with innovative ways to comply with the environmental permit and they look and operate their systems kind of on a daily business with the eye toward ‘how can I do it better - to be more efficient, to preserve more nutrients, to reduce environmental impact and to have a profitable operation,’’’ says Matthews.
Farms like Rickreall manage waste by converting it to fertilizer to nourish crops that then feed the cows. This results in a smaller environmental footprint both by reducing waste and localizing resources.