Over 450 dairy nutritionists, consultants and industry professionals from around the world gathered in East Syracuse, New York, Oct. 22-24, for the 86th annual Cornell Nutrition Conference.

Progressive Dairy Editor Jenn Coyne spoke with Jamie Leifker, president of Truterra, to learn more about industry efforts to support sustainable dairy farming practices and reach goals within the dairy supply chain. 

In Canada, the dairy sector is a major source of agricultural methane, placing it squarely in the spotlight as the country races to meet Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) targets and Canada's net zero by 2050 commitment. However, the industry’s sluggish pace toward emission reductions raises serious doubts about achieving this goal.

At the annual Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada, conference speakers shared diverse perspectives on some of the most pressing issues facing the livestock feed industry, ranging from the emergence of lab-grown proteins to the quest for net zero and the role of trace mineral additives in sustainability.

To dairy farmers, carbon credits, or offsets, are best known in association with anaerobic digestion. These projects require big farms with significant amounts of manure and plenty of capital, resulting in credits sold to buyers outside of the dairy or even the food and beverage industries.

Farm Credit Canada's Dairy Sustainability Incentive Program returns with support from Dairy Farmers of Canada and Starbucks to reward the sustainability successes of farmers.