Silostop joins the Dairy Sustainability Alliance

Silostop is proud to announce we have joined US Dairy’s Dairy Sustainability Alliance. As the first silage cover supplier and first Oxygen Barrier Film supplier to join the Alliance, Silostop continues to set the bar high for dairy sustainability and reduction of greenhouse gases. Silostop’s commitment to sustainability and to supporting the US dairy industry is reflected in this voluntary membership.

“Silostop’s membership in the Sustainability Alliance is a logical next step on our journey toward greater sustainability,” said Meghan Gebhardt, Silostop Regional Manager for North America. “Silostop continues to pioneer technological advances to reduce single-use plastic on piles, while providing consistently superior High Oxygen Barrier products.”

The Dairy Sustainability Alliance® is a multi-stakeholder group consisting of companies and organizations from across the dairy community who want to contribute to dairy’s social responsibility journey. Through in-person meetings, webinars and newsletters, Dairy Sustainability Alliance members share knowledge, collaborate on issues affecting the industry at large, accelerate progress toward common sustainability goals and contribute to the long-term viability of the U.S. dairy industry.

The Dairy Sustainability Alliance provides a forum for stakeholder input that is essential as the Innovation Center takes its next steps to credibly measure, report on, and support dairy social responsibility.

The US Dairy Innovation Center sponsors the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, which recognize dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for practices that demonstrate outstanding economic, environmental and social benefits; a longstanding commitment to continuous improvement; and a replicable model to inform and inspire others in advancing dairy sustainability leadership. Several current and past winners recognized by the Sustainability Awards are Silostop users, and we are proud to support family-owned dairy farms across the United States.

Per US Dairy’s site, the Alliance focuses on four pillars of sustainability:

In 2008, U.S. dairy was the first in the food agricultural sector to conduct a full life cycle assessment at a national level which showed it contributes just 2% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2007, producing a gallon of milk uses 90% less land and 65% less water, with a 63% smaller carbon footprint than in 1944. Thanks to increasingly modern and innovative dairy farming practices, the environmental impact of producing a gallon of milk in 2017 shrunk significantly, requiring 30% less water, 21% less land and a 19% smaller carbon footprint than it did in 2007. That’s the same as the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by half a million acres of US forest.

The dairy community is committed to making further progress. Our 2050 goals support a vision that dairy is an environmental solution, addressing the areas where U.S. dairy collectively can have the greatest impact.

Specifically, the goals are:
- Achieve GHG neutrality.
- Optimize water use while maximizing recycling.
- Improve water quality by optimizing utilization of manure and nutrients.

Simply put: Cows come first. Dairy cow care is one of the most important parts of production, and farmers are constantly discovering new ways to help their cows stay healthy and comfortable—no matter the season.

Dairy farmers—with small or large farms—use best management practices as outlined in the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Animal Care Program to ensure their cows are well-cared for by providing them with a nutritious diet, plenty of water and well-ventilated, well-lighted barns—all of which help keep cows healthy.

Dairy farmers, regardless of their herd size, use many ways to provide quality animal care. Many modern dairy farms today include free-stall housing. This type of barn allows cows to eat, drink and rest whenever and wherever they choose—within the barn and the surrounding area. Other farms choose open lots that allow for easy access to and from housing to open land. Some farms opt to use tie-stall barns, which provides individual stalls for cows that allow for clean, dry and comfortable resting and standing and ample room for farm workers to milk the cow in the stall.

Many barns also feature fans and water misters that keep the cows cool and comfortable in the warm months. Farmers also provide clean sand, wood chips, mattresses or even waterbeds for comfortable bedding for their cows.

Dairy farmers are always evolving their feed management techniques to ensure cow health, realize production efficiencies and improve the environmental sustainability of their farms. While each farm is unique, most dairy cows eat nutritious feed that consists primarily of grass, along with some grain and natural byproducts such as almond hulls, canola meal or citrus pulp that humans cannot eat and would otherwise become landfill waste.

The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards recognize dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for practices that demonstrate outstanding economic, environmental and social benefits; a longstanding commitment to continuous improvement; and a replicable model to inform and inspire others in advancing dairy sustainability leadership.

The U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment: demonstrating U.S. dairy’s positive impact from farm to table.

The U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment is our social responsibility pledge to consumers, customers and other stakeholders. Companies that adopt the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment meet defined criteria for important areas like animal care, the environment and food safety and report on impact in a transparent and meaningful way.

People depend on nutritious food to support their health and well-being, and it’s vital to produce food in a responsible way to address the needs of our communities and the planet. The Stewardship Commitment is a demonstration of U.S. dairy's long-standing values, and a pledge to uphold those values for today, tomorrow, and the future.