Chicago—The Innovation Center for US Dairy on Wednesday announced its fifth annual US Dairy Sustainability Awards during a ceremony here.

The program recognizes dairy businesses, farms and partnerships whose sustainable practices positively impact the health and wellbeing of consumers, communities, animals and the environment. Judges evaluated the nominees’ sustainability practices based on their economic, environmental and community impact, also known as triple-bottom-line success.

The 2016 award winner for Outstanding Dairy Processing and Manufacturing Sustainability is Agri-Mark Inc. and Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Waitsfield, VT.

Real Farm Power TM is the latest in a series of sustainability projects pioneered by the 1,200 dairy farm families of Agri-Mark, which owns Cabot.

The program takes a closed-loop approach, recycling cow manure, food scraps and food processing by-products to produce renewable energy.

Real Farm Power reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 5,680 tons annually while generating 2,200 megawatt hours of renewable energy to offset the power needed to make Cabot butter.

The $2.8 million project is expected to have a six-year payback, and it offers a blueprint for scaling anaerobic digester technology to small- and medium-sized dairy farms.

Honorable mention for dairy processing and manufacturing sustainability went to Foremost Farms USA and Schreiber Foods, which produce dairy products at separate plants in Richland Center, WI. The companies recently joined forces to construct Richland Center Renewable Energy (RCRE), a state-of-the-art water treatment facility that generates renewable energy from both dairy plants’ wastewater.

With capacity to treat up to 1.4 million gallons of water per day using anaerobic digesters, RCRE reduces waste-hauling costs and takes stress off the local municipal treatment plant. The project serves as a road map for other dairy manufacturing facilities seeking to manage waste streams in an effective, efficient and sustainable manner.

Bateman’s Mosida Farms in Elberta, UT; Jer-Lindy Farms LLC, Brooten, MN and Siemers Holsteins, Newton, WI were winners of awards for Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability.

Honorable mention for dairy farm sustainability went to Homestead Dairy, Plymouth, IN.

Homestead Dairy installed a methane digester to generate additional revenue and improve the farm’s manure and nutrient management.

Other sustainable practices include recycling water, and using nutritious byproducts from other food manufacturing facilities, including a local chocolate manufacturer, as cow feed.

Honored for Outstanding Achievement in Community Partnerships was Noblehurst Farms, Inc., Linwood, NY. Through a food waste cooperative formed by Noblehurst Farms, food waste and scraps from 30 Wegmans stores, as well as universities and schools, is gathered and delivered to a digester at the dairy. This effort not only keeps tons of food waste out of landfills, it also provides enough energy to power the 1,800- cow dairy.

Honorable mention for achievement in community partnerships went to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank (CPFB), Harrisburg, PA, which worked with partners to create a sustainable, replicable model for supplying milk to children and adults who depend on food assistance. CPFB, licensed as a charitable milk subdealer, worked with dairy partners to create a fresh milk program that provides 5,000 quarts of milk per week to families in need.

Building on the success of the CPFB’s model, and a similar initiative in Pittsburgh, the fresh milk program is expanding to all eight of the Feeding Pennsylvania food banks.

In 2016, this statewide charitable milk program is expected to provide more than 2 million servings of milk to Pennsylvania families.

The award for Outstanding Achievement in Resource Stewardship went to Yahara Pride Farms, Brooklyn, WI. The Yahara Pride Farms conservation board brings together farmers, agronomists and local businesses to proactively support community and environmental health and fiscal sustainability. The partnership focuses on soil conservation and effective manure management in order to improve land and waterways in Dane county, WI.

For more information about the US Dairy Sustainability Awards, the winners and the best practices in place at their operations, visit www.dairygood.org.