Dairy Grazing Alliance, dedicated to growing all parts of the dairy grazing sector, launched today at the Sustainable Agriculture Summit. The Summit goes through Nov. 21 in Minneapolis.
In late spring of 2024, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship, now housed under the Alliance, brought together more than 35 changemakers from across the U.S. dairy industry. This included dairy farmers, technical support organizations, government agencies, and financial institutions. Participants agreed that in order to realize the full potential of U.S. dairy grazing, all parts of the value chain must grow. Dairy Grazing Alliance intends to lead this growth toward a more vibrant dairy grazing sector.
Alliance stakeholders will work together to develop new dairy grazing markets and all aspects of the value chain. The organization will foster cooperation and inspire innovation and action between farming operations, major CPG brands, and research institutions.
“I’m really proud of the incredible work Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship has done since its founding in 2010,” says Joe Tomandl, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in central Wisconsin. “Dairy Grazing Alliance expands on this work in order to grow the sector as a whole. “
Tomandl is the founder of Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship and Dairy Grazing Alliance.
“As consumer demand for pasture-raised dairy intensifies, more attention and investment is needed across the value chain,” he says. “We’re confident the Alliance will usher in an exciting new chapter for dairy grazing and dairy grazing farmers.”
Globally, the market for grass-fed milk is expected to grow 22.4 percent in the next 10 years, according to MMR Research. Yet the U.S. dairy grazing sector has not kept pace. By aligning players across the value chain, the Alliance will build new markets for dairy produced through managed grazing. It will increase the financing, research, and technical resources required to scale production for emerging markets.
Dairy Grazing Alliance stakeholders will work directly on financing, market development, farm profitability, production systems, research, policy, and advocacy for dairy grazing.
Part of the Alliance’s work will be advocating and advancing continued research studies that showcase dairy grazing’s environmental benefits. Managed dairy grazing is a significant tool in the U.S. dairy industry’s toolbox of effective climate solutions.