Do you know a dairy farmer who is running his or her operation in a socially responsible, economically viable, and environmentally sound way? If so, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy wants to hear about it. The organization is accepting nominations for its seventh annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, which honors exceptional dairy farmers.
Nominations are open through Feb. 12, and you can follow this link to make a nomination or read the complete guidelines. There is no entry fee. All farmers and organizations involved in U.S. dairy and those who promote dairy-related health and wellness are eligible to submit nominations in the following categories:
“The sustainability awards are a great way to celebrate the diverse ways in which the dairy community reinforces our collective commitment to sustainable practices,” said Barbara O’Brien, president of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and Dairy Management Inc. “Each year, the awards recognize those farms and companies that are advancing positive and continuous change for dairy and for communities nationwide.”
Awards are given in the following categories:
Dairy farm sustainability, which recognizes leaders in socially responsible, economically viable, and environmentally sound dairy production and exemplify a longstanding commitment to continuous improvement. Successful nominations take a holistic approach to sustainability and provide replicable results that can inspire positive change industrywide.
Processing and manufacturing sustainability, which exemplifies the triple bottom line of sustainability, having demonstrated steps to innovate, measure and communicate progress. It provides replicable success stories to benefit the dairy community and actively engage with peers and stakeholders to inform continuous improvement industrywide.
Community impact, which recognizes community efforts that improve lives and communities through their positive impacts on health and wellness, hunger relief, workforce development, community volunteering and investment, and/or environmental stewardship. Successful nominations demonstrate instances where farms, cooperatives, processors or other dairy community stakeholders (either collaboratively or as a single entity) develop practical and effective solutions to shared challenges and goals of the communities in which they live and work.
Supply chain collaboration, which recognizes collaborative and market-based partnerships to demonstrate that truly sustainable outcomes benefit the entire industry rather than any one customer or supplier. This award highlights customer engagement through a collaborative farm, cooperative, and/or processor partnership to benefit all involved and provide best-in-class examples of sustainable dairy supply chains.
The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards have honored 53 farms and businesses in the past six years. The 2018 winners will receive:
- An expenses-paid trip to Chicago in May to the awards ceremony held during the 2018 Dairy Sustainability Forum.
- National and local recognition of their stories and passion for sustainability.
- A featured case study on usdairy.com to share insights and lessons learned with industry peers (see 2017 winners usdairy.com/2017-winners).
- Opportunities to work with others in the dairy community to help advance sustainability.
