Sustainability is everywhere, especially in Wisconsin’s dairy industry! Sustainability in one form or another has been practiced by Wisconsin dairy farmers for generations, including working with their land to keep their soil rich and healthy to dairy cows being natural recyclers.

Jeff Betley is a member of the board of directors for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.  He's the third generation farmer in northeast Wisconsin, with plans in place to bring the next generation along!  Betley tells Pam Jahnke more about their operation, and the unique investments they've made in sustainability practices that help not only their bottom line - but their neighbors as well. Most recently, a methane digester!

Betley says it's not just about the cows - it's also about the land when it comes to sustainability.  He says many farms today are using cover crops to protect and enrich the soil on their farms. Today's farms are moving toward no-till or reduced tillage practices to reduce or eliminate erosion and keep soil healthy. Farmers improve soil health via crop rotation, planting cover crops and converting to no-till or reduced tillage, which prevents soil erosion and runoff into local water sources.

Continued learning is a key point for Betley and the staff he employees and works with too!  Wisconsin has over 28 dairy-farmer-led watershed groups that protect hundreds of thousands of acres of land and water in Wisconsin. Many dairy farmers are involved in these groups to care for their local waterways and water supply. Farmers are also students! Farmers volunteer to participate in research that helps protect water quality through a Wisconsin program called Discovery Farms. Betley says the "real world" scenarios that Discovery Farms presents help him make decisions without forcing him to make investments in time and money strictly on his own.

To learn more about how Wisconsin dairy farmers are committed to building a sustainable future, visit WisconsinDairy.org/Sustainability.

While you’re shopping in store, the best way to support Wisconsin dairy farm families is to look for the Proudly Wisconsin badge or the number “55” on packaging.