Conservationists Hub
Resources for Conservation Professionals and Non-Profit Partners
Dairy Conservation Navigator resources help conservation professionals and nonprofit partners better understand how conservation practices fit within real dairy farm systems.
The resources provide dairy-specific context on manure management, nutrient management, cropping systems, water quality, soil health, and implementation barriers, helping partners strengthen technical assistance, program design, farmer outreach, and funding support.
Key Learning Hub Courses
These short courses contain downloaded slide decks and handouts to help provides credible, dairy-specific education and ready-to-use materials that can advance knowledge of dairy-specific nuances, strengthen technical assistance, outreach, and collaboration with farmers and advisors.
‣ Greenhouse gases (GHG) basics
‣ Sources of GHGs on dairy farms
‣ Opportunities to reduce dairy farm GHGs
Dairy Farm Greenhouse Gases 101
‣ Enteric methane overview
‣ Factors that influence enteric fermentation
‣ Enteric methane mitigation strategies (current and future)
Enteric Methane Emissions
‣ Types of environmental models
‣ Value of environmental models
‣ Agricultural greenhouse gas footprint models
‣ Agricultural water quality models
Environmental Modeling
‣ Manure GHG emissions overview
‣ Options to reduce manure emissions at the farm level
‣ Manure myths debunked
Manure Emissions
Key Models Tools & Guides
Sustainable Manure Management and Impacts Tool (SuMMIT)
The Sustainable Manure Management Impacts Tool (SuMMIT) is a user-friendly life cycle assessment model developed in partnership with Sustainability Science that enables users to quickly estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from various dairy manure collection, storage, and treatment practices.
FARM Environmental Stewardship (ES) V3
FARM ES is a farm-level environmental assessment and customer assurance program. The core FARM ES evaluation provides a comprehensive estimate of greenhouse gas emissions on dairy farms, powered by the Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) model. The program provides tools and resources for farmers to measure and improve their footprint.
Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) Model
Ruminant Farm Systems, or RuFaS, is open-source, whole-farm modeling software designed to support farmers' decision-making by prioritizing animal health, production, and efficiency.
Visit the RuFaS website or GitHub page for more information.
Nutrient Choice
Manure solid-liquid separation offers a potential pathway for redistributing nutrients from livestock-intensive, nutrient-surplus regions to cropland with fertilizer demand, but the competitiveness of separated manure products with synthetic phosphorus fertilizer depends on manure quality, acquisition price, and hauling distance. NutrientChoice is techno-economic framework to evaluate separated dairy manure solids (SDMS) relative to synthetic phosphorus fertilizer under representative market and agronomic conditions and to identify transaction-level thresholds for competitive viability.
Key Practices and Technologies
These featured practices are meant to help users get started, but there are many more options available in the full Practice and Technology Library.
Soil Health, Soil Function and Field Resilience
Biochar Soil Amendment
Interseeding Between Corn
Rotational Grazing
Erosion Control and Edge-of-Field Protection
Erosion Control: Grassed Waterways
Nutrient Loss Reduction and Manure Application
Nutrient Management: Accounting For Nitrogen Credits from Legumes and Manure
Nutrient Management: Apply Nutrients to Meet Realistic Yield Goals
Nutrient Management: Applying Manure on a Phosphorous Basis
Nutrient Management: Split Manure and Fertilizer Application
Water Quantity and Irrigation Efficiency
Manure Storage, Runoff and Farmstead Water Quality
Manure Storage Facility: Geomembrane or Concrete Liners
Mortality Management
Manure Methane Reduction and Manure Treatment
Manure Collection: Conversion from Flush to Scrape or Vacuum Systems
Manure Separation: Coarse Solid-Liquid Separation via Sloped Screens and Screw Press
Manure Separation: Fine Separation via Centrifuge and Vibrating Screen
Manure Separation: Fine Separation via Chemical Flocculation and Dewatering
Energy Use and Renewable Energy
High-Efficiency Compressors
High-Efficiency Fans for Ventilation and Cooling
High-Efficiency Motors
High-Efficiency Water Heaters
LED Lights
Purchasing Renewable Energy
Replacing Fossil Fuel Engines with Electric Motors or Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Engines
Variable Frequency Drives: Milk Transfer Pump
Variable Speed Fan Controls
browse audience hubs for other resources
Explore resources designed to help dairy professionals understand conservation opportunities, compare options, and support practical on-farm decision-making.
Nutritionists
Veterinarians
Farmers
Conservationists
Co-Op Staff
