You owe it to yourself to be an environmentalist

The future of the dairy industry depends upon many things – sound business management, good milk prices and a progressive labor force, to name a few. Just as important is each producer’s environmental stewardship.

By Lee Telega

The majority of people living in the Northeast know very little about dairy farming or the dairy industry. For many, dairying has no connection to the serving of milk on their cereal, that summer ice cream cone or Friday night’s pizza with extra cheese.
    Too often people only know the negatives of dairying: the odors in the air that make them feel sick, the mess on the road that dirties their cars and the slow-moving vehicles that delay their trip to work and back home.
    In contrast to these pesky parts of dairying, the industry’s contributions to a local economy, government or natural resources don’t mean much to most people. They want immediate relief from the smell and mess.

Be the best
    Environmental management – the focus of this issue of The Manager – requires dairy producers to do two things:
    1. Implement sound environmental practices. This issue of The Manager equips you with important, cutting-edge information on environmental topics, ranging from the Phosphorus Index to research on manure handling and treatment systems, and the role of dairy cattle nutrition on nutrient cycling.
    2. Inform your neighbors and your community of the these practices and what they mean to your community’s natural resources, quality of life and economy.
    Public information on dairy practices and dairying’s benefits is an increasingly important part of running your business. Public relations take many forms:

A newsletter given to neighbors every spring to explain manure-handling practices.
A community picnic.
Extra effort to keep your farmstead attractive.
Hauling loads of composted manure to a neighbor’s garden.
Speaking to a community service group.
Membership in the Chamber of Commerce or economic development group.
Developing an environmental management plan.

    Include in your dairy’s public relations campaign the contributions your industry makes to your communities:
    1. Economy. Every full-time worker equivalent on dairy farms creates 1.52 more jobs. And for every dollar of farm-gate milk sales, the multiplying effect generates an added $2.29 in income, according to Cornell University economists. This multiplier effect is even greater for dairy manufacturing plants: For every full-time worker, 3.53 jobs are created. And for every dollar of product shipped, $2.61 in additional income is generated. (See table.)
    Because milk production and dairy manufacturing purchase much of their inputs locally and use local labor, they have a tremendous impact on a region’s economy.
    2. Tax base. Because farms own and rent the highest percentage of acres in many rural communities, they often are the largest contributors to local public coffers. But farms take much less out of the public trough for services than do property owners in more residential parts of a community.
    American Farmland Trust estimates that for every $1 paid in property taxes, a residential property owner uses services costing $1.11. Farmland uses only 33 cents worth of local public services.

Economic Multipliers, by Sector in New York State
Production Agriculture, Industries	Total Income	Employment
Dairy	$2.29	1.52
Crops	$2.28	1.51
Nursery/wood products	$1.78	1.39

Agricultural Manufacturing
Dairy	$2.61	3.53
Fruits/vegetables	$1.67	2.09

Other Economic Sectors
Construction	$1.66	1.57
Services	$1.48	1.39
Non-food manufacturing	$1.41	1.62
Retail/wholesale trade	$1.40	1.30
Finance/insurance/real estate	$1.19	1.54

   3. Recreation and tourism. In Massachusetts, farms are included in most of the state’s 10 most scenic views. Many farm owners let people use their land for recreation such as hiking, snowmobiling, fishing and hunting. In many rural regions of the Northeast, tourism and farming are joint lead industries.
    4. Natural resources. When dairies protect natural resources – streams, rivers, woodlands and wetlands – wildlife and communities benefit.

Benefits aside
    The benefits that agriculture brings to a community are important. But when deluged with odors, perceived threats to water quality and messes on roads, many of your neighbors and government policy will demand more and better environmental management.
    For dairies, sound forage production, livestock nutrition and manure handling contribute to protecting natural resources. And that’s what this issue of The Manager is about: how dairies can use today’s environmental management technology and research to benefit their businesses and communities.

FYI

For the Guide to AEM in New York State, Tier II worksheets, contact your local New York Soil & Water Conservation District Office.

For information on economic multipliers, see this website:
http://aem.cornell.edu/