DENMARK (NBC 26) — Heading into summer and June Dairy Month, dairy farmers are working to implement new methods of sustainability on their farms. The 74th Alice in Dairyland is spreading the word to make sure farmers know how to stay environmentally friendly, but also showcase the amount of work they do for their consumers.
"Sustainability is a big conversation right now," said Julia Nunes, this year's "Alice". "And farmers are doing a lot to make sure that they are being as sustainable as possible, and really utilizing all of their resources to make sure that they're not letting anything go to waste."
One way farmers are able to reduce waste is what they feed their cattle.
“Farmers are able to feed their cows leftovers, and they're able to use distillers grains, which are leftover grains from ethanol production and spent grains from beer production," said Nunes. "We're able to feed those leftover grains to their animals.”
It's important to take on these practices to keep the legacy of the farm alive.
"About 95% of our farms in Wisconsin are family-owned," said Nunes. "So farmers are constantly making sure that they're leaving the land better than they found it. They want to carry on for the future generations, their children, their grandchildren."
And it's not only farmers that can do the work, Nunes points to how consumers can be sustainable, too, especially when it comes to reducing food waste. She says her favorite ways are by freezing her meat, but also utilizing leftovers in other meals, like with this Egg Bake.
“Farmers think sustainability is a relatively, like, new word," said Nunes. "People are always talking about being sustainable, but sustainable practices have been happening on farms for generations. And farmers are constantly working to care to take better care of their land and the water in the soil."
