Through commitments like the Net Zero Initiative and efforts like the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, dairy farmers are well-positioned to be agricultural leaders in mitigating climate change, said Dr. Jamie Jonker, NMPF’s Vice President for Sustainability and Scientific Affairs. 

“We're producing more milk, we're having less greenhouse gas emissions overall, which means that the U.S. dairy sector is already the most efficient in the world,” said Jonker, who also serves as chairman of the International Dairy Federation’s Science Program Coordinating Committee. Still, farmers face regulatory and financial challenges in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the sustainability of their resource use, he said. “The biggest challenge is really the technology and financial side. If we're not able to have our dairy farmers afford to make changes in their operations, then they cannot put these technologies and best practices into practice on their farms.”