Skip to main content
search

Sustainability

OUR FARMERS WORK HARD FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Creating Sustainable Solutions For The Future

Click to learn more about how our farmers are making a difference

Sustainability isn’t just a buzz word for our farmers — it’s a lifestyle.

That’s because our family farms have been passed down for generations, so the adoption of sustainable practices ensure that our farms continue to stay around for generations to come.

Our farmers recognize that they are a part of something bigger. By taking responsibility to limit their environmental impact to their communities, our farmers are working to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality. Read on to find out more about the sustainability efforts of our farm families.

How Our Farmers Make A Difference

No matter if it’s setting aside riparian buffer zones or using the latest equipment to preserve nutrients in the soil, our Maola Local Dairies farmers know that being a part of sustainable solutions is important to create lasting change.

All of our farmers participate in and are in good standing with the National Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program. This program lays out best practices in areas of animal care, environmental stewardship and workforce development based on sound science and socially responsible standards. The program helps show customers and consumers that we are holding ourselves to the top standards to provide wholesome dairy goodness.  

We are proud to have our farmers participate in this program and proud that our farms run by committing to producing the best milk with integrity.

 
 
 
 
1
1

Conservation Areas

In North Carolina, Maola dairy farmers Jimmy and Andy are working with the State of North Carolina to protect streams and creeks on their farm. By working with the state to create riparian buffers, the family has registered their land as a protected space for wildlife and ecosystem management.

Riparian buffers help create natural barrier between agriculture operations and waterways, which keep nutrients and waste away from the water. This protects waterways downstream and helps keep cattle healthy by giving them fresh water to drink in their pastures or barns.

You can read more about Jimmy and Andy’s farm HERE.

Play Video

Cropping Practices

In Virginia, Maola dairy farms are using a no-till drill. Many of our farmers practice no-till farming, which is well-established as an environmentally friendly way of planting crops.

The drill allows our farmers to grow crops with minimum soil disturbance, as it opens the soil just enough so seeds can be planted, while limiting the displacement of nutrients in the top soil and keeping waterways free of these substances. No-till farming also dramatically reduces soil erosion

 

 
 
 
 
 
1
1

Supply Chain Partnerships

We’ve teamed up with supply chain partners, like Turkey Hill Dairy and Giant Food, to put more power behind our common sustainability goals.

These partners work alongside our farms to help implement conservation plans, waste management systems and other sustainability efforts. Since 2017, our partnerships have earned more than $45 million in grant funding to help the dairy supply chain become more efficient.

One such partnership, the Giant Clean Water Partnership, pairs our farms with retail partner, Giant, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. The partnership uses the Alliance’s knowledge of conservation practices to help our farms become more efficient and uses Giant’s consumer reach to help bring sustainable solutions all the way from farm to table.

 

Our partnership with Turkey Hill Dairy and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay was awarded the 2020 Outstanding Supply Chain Collaboration from the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The partnership developed solutions like modern housing for cows, manure storage, tree planting, stream fencing, cover crops, conservation tillage and nutrient management. These practices improve the farms’ soil, water and manure management, which will positively impact local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

 
 
 
 
1
1
Play Video

Environmental Assessments

Every year, we perform a specified number of Environmental Assessments across our farms to understand our environmental impact. Our trained assessors use this data to measure the carbon and energy footprint of our entire milk supply. This figure helps us discover more efficient ways to use the land’s resources and discover new ways to work towards achieving a greenhouse gas neutral milk supply by 2050.

 
 
 
 
 
1
1

Subscribe to our Maola Newsletter

* indicates required
Close Menu