Since the turn of the century, sustainability has been integrated into business strategies, giving birth to the triple bottom line – people, planet and profit. This has expanded how people think about sustainability. It is more than environment and includes economic and social or societal dimensions.   

“Today we have a third of the number of cows we had in 1960, and we’re producing more milk,” said Christine Baes of the University of Guelph during her keynote presentation at the 2024 Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council annual meeting. “That’s a pretty good sustainability story, but when you Google ‘sustainability and dairy cows,’ you see headlines about cow flatulence. Why is that?”

The second annual Manitoba Beef and Forage Conference was held on Oct. 31, 2024, in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Producers heard from industry experts about applying current research to their own operations. Of the various topics shared, here are three top takeaways.

In a room filled with dairy producers, processors and customers, farmer Mitch Breunig looked around and announced, “I’m really impressed with how many people care about sustainability. … Everyone is this room is here because of the dairy cow, and improving the dairy cow is going to be the path to make this sustainability journey come together.” 

Methane from agriculture, especially livestock, represents a significant portion of global methane emissions. Agriculture overall is responsible for 40%-50% of anthropogenic methane emissions, with ruminants accounting for roughly 56%-70% of methane from this figure.

Addressing dairy sustainability goals through a comprehensive and holistic approach and taking into consideration the entire operation as the active unit mitigating environmental impact is the ultimate way to ensure all initiatives fulfill the true definition of sustainability.

In Canada, the dairy sector is a major source of agricultural methane, placing it squarely in the spotlight as the country races to meet Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) targets and Canada's net zero by 2050 commitment. However, the industry’s sluggish pace toward emission reductions raises serious doubts about achieving this goal.