Nomination Period Now Open For the 6th Annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards

3 min read January 5, 2017

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy^®, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, is accepting nominations for the sixth annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards honoring exceptional dairy farms, businesses and partnerships for their socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound practices.

“Communities – urban and rural – benefit from the individual and collective efforts of dairy farmers and dairy companies that work to advance sustainability,” said Barbara O’Brien, president of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. “We are excited to collect and share success stories that exemplify this commitment, and we continue to depend on people to nominate themselves, their business partners and their neighbors.”

Nominations are open through March 3, 2017. All segments along the U.S. dairy value chain and those who promote dairy-related health and wellness are eligible to submit nominations in the following categories:

Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability: Recognizes three farms that serve as examples of socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound dairy production. Successful nominees take a holistic approach to sustainability and provide replicable results that can inspire greater industrywide change.
Outstanding Dairy Processing & Manufacturing Sustainability: Recognizes dairy processors and manufacturers whose businesses exemplify the triple bottom line of sustainability. Successful nominees have demonstrated both measurable progress and corporate commitment.
Outstanding Achievement in Resource Stewardship: Recognizes dairy operations (both on and off the farm) that have measurable success in managing their resources with optimal efficiency and quality. Successful nominees have implemented efficiencies or innovations in areas such as energy, water and soil conservation, manure and waste management and/or renewable energy generation.
Outstanding Achievement in Community Partnerships: Recognizes collaborations (both on and off the farm) that improve lives and communities by making positive impacts on health and wellness, hunger relief, workforce development and/or environmental stewardship. Successful nominees will demonstrate instances in which organizations collaborate with other stakeholders in their community to develop practical and effective solutions for shared challenges and goals.

Winner Benefits

The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards have honored 39 businesses in the past five years. Help us celebrate others who make sustainability a reality every day. The 2017 winners will receive:

An expense-paid trip to Chicago in June 2017 to the awards ceremony and dairy sustainability events
National and local recognition of their stories and passion for sustainability
A featured case study on USDairy.com/Sustainability to share insights and lessons learned with industry peers
Opportunities to work with others in the dairy community to help advance sustainability

Program Details

The awards are part of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy’s commitment to Americans to ensure a socially responsible and ever-improving dairy community.

An independent panel of judges evaluates all nominations based on measurable results and the potential for other dairy farms and businesses to adopt the practices. Nominations are also evaluated for demonstrated learning, innovation and improvement as well as scalability. Judges and sponsors will be announced soon.

Visit USDairy.com to submit your nomination by March 3, 2017. There is no fee to enter. Winners will be announced in June 2017.

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Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy^® is a forum that leverages the collective power of the dairy community to address the changing needs and expectations of consumers through a framework of shared best practices and accountability. Our voices span the food chain, from dairy farms through retail, including farmers, companies, organizations and grocers. We focus on priorities that are pre-competitive in nature, where working together brings strength and the opportunity to make meaningful change. Initiated in 2008 by dairy farmers through the dairy checkoff, we collaborate on efforts that are important both to us and our valued customers – issues like food safety, nutrition and health, the environment and economics. The Innovation Center is committed to continuous improvement from farm to table, striving to ensure a socially responsible and economically viable dairy community.