A recent study conducted by the Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas, commissioned by the Innovation Center for US Dairy, found that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the dairy industry make up only about 2 percent of total U.S. emissions. The study follows the production process of a gallon of milk from the farm to the glass, incorporating data from 540 dairy farms and 54 milk processing plants across the nation.

The comprehensive study shows the complexity of the dairy industry as well as the need for producers, processors, retailers and consumers to work together to continue to reduce the overall carbon footprint. To highlight the holistic nature of the industry, the study broke out each step by GHG emissions.

• Growing feed for cows – 19 percent
• Natural methane production from cows – 2 percent
• Natural methane production from manure – 24 percent
• Individual farm’s energy usage – 4 percent
• Transportation, processing, packaging and distribution– 17 percent
• Retailers – 6 percent
• Milk consumption and disposal of milk containers– 5 percent

In a recent interview to Reuters, Erin Fitzgerald, vice president of sustainability for the Innovation Center for US Dairy, notes that there is a consumer demand for action to reduce the total emissions for the industry. “Our consumers are demanding this…In the political environment, we're entering a period of radical transparency [and] we thought it was very important to measure our impacts and chart a path for our industry to follow.”

The U.S. dairy industry as a whole has been working to reduce its overall carbon footprint. Having successfully reduced it more than 63 percent since 1944, the industry continues to work hard developing best practices in sustainability.