The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Environmental Stewardship Program announced on May 19 that it has updated its Version 3 assessment system, incorporating the newest scientific advances from the Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) model that drives FARM ES Version 3.
Several important factors drove this enhancement:
The updated system now accounts for farming practices when producers provide additional information about their crop operations, which will be included in their overall environmental impact calculations. Emissions from feed production will be separated into purchased versus farm-grown sources for operations that supply cropping details.
Scientists have made significant advances in waste management calculations, including improved temperature sensitivity, enhanced methane modeling for young animals, and the ability to specify how solids are handled after separation processes.
The RuFaS research team will be better positioned to assist FARM ES with technical questions since the program will operate on the most current model framework.
Scientific documentation from the RuFaS team will match the model version used by FARM ES, making it easier for cooperatives, processors, customers, and consultants to understand emission calculations.
Changes to FARM ES reporting will better support greenhouse gas protocol standards for livestock and supply chain reporting.
The platform enhancement demonstrates FARM Environmental Stewardship’s dedication to providing top-tier scientific approaches that serve operations of varying sizes, locations and production methods.
FARM Environmental Stewardship offers a system developed by and for America’s dairy industry, supported by peer-reviewed, reliable research. Dairy producers across the United States actively influence the program, creating unified industry responses to supply chain demands and helping consolidate sustainability tracking into a single system.
FARM ES highlights the excellent conservation practices dairy farmers have implemented for decades and increasingly functions as a pathway for producers to participate in supply chain reward programs and other initiatives that directly benefit their environmental efforts.
