The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) have initiated a one-year New Acre Project pilot to support their commitment to achieving net-zero emissions from farm-level dairy production by 2050. By sponsoring the pilot, DFC aims to encourage farmers to develop nature-based projects on underutilized farmland, including creating wetlands, grasslands, and tree planting initiatives, to capture and store carbon and offer added environmental benefits.
The New Acre Project, powered by ALUS’ corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment platform, assists companies in generating social and environmental benefits within their active communities by creating nature-based projects. The DFC’s 84-acre sponsorship will strategically channel capital to support dairy farmers in implementing these initiatives, mitigating local environmental issues, fostering resilience in the dairy sector, and offsetting carbon emissions from milk production.
“ALUS’ vision is to sustain agriculture, wildlife, and natural spaces for communities and future generations,” says Jill Weaver, Director of Partnerships at ALUS. “The Dairy Farmers of Canada’s New Acre Project pilot aligns with our mission, supporting farmers across Canada in building agricultural, environmental, and community resilience while also helping the sector achieve net zero by 2050.”
DFC measures the carbon footprint of milk production every five years to guide its carbon reduction efforts. As of 2016, one kilogram of milk production yielded 0.92 kg CO2e, according to a report by Groupe AGECO. The organization believes introducing carbon offset and reduction solutions to farming operations will pave the way for the dairy sector to attain net-zero emissions by 2050.
Creating new acres of nature on underused sections of dairy farms across Canada is one of the strategies DFC will deploy to achieve this goal, generating additional benefits for all Canadians. ALUS participants who manage dairy operations on farms will implement the pilot’s supported projects.
Pierre Lampron, President of DFC, shares the enthusiasm for the New Acre Project: “Dairy Farmers of Canada is excited to support ALUS’ New Acre Project and help dairy farmers across Canada maintain acres of marginal agricultural land. The wide variety of ecosystem services the project supports will help sustain positive environmental and economic outcomes in agriculture, which can only benefit future farmers and our country as a whole.”
Photo by Austin Santaniello on Unsplash
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