Celebrating Dairy on National Agriculture Day
Today we celebrate the 49th Annual National Agriculture Day. The theme for National Ag Day 2022 is “Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.” American agriculture is the foundation of our country. It’s the backbone of a healthy and prosperous nation, made possible by the hard work of America’s farm families who lead the way in preservation and innovation for the health of our planet.
Maryland & Virginia’s 900+ dairy farmers are known across the industry as being progressive champions for sustainability. Our cooperative supports socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound dairy farm practices. Sustainability is important to our dairy farm families to ensure that generations of their family can continue the legacy and bring dairy goodness to tables across our milkshed for decades to come.
We took a huge step forward on sustainability in 2021. Our sustainability team nearly tripled our funding to $11 M by securing outside grant dollars and corporate partnerships with our sustainability partner, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. These funds are used to make meaningful improvements to member farms, making them sustainable for generations to come. Customers and consumers are taking notice of our sustainability efforts and our cooperative is being recognized as pioneers of public-private partnerships in dairy sustainability. This work will help us achieve our shared U.S. dairy commitment to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050.
To celebrate National Agriculture Day, we’d like to step back and look at our contributions to food and agriculture. In 2021, our cooperative:
- Employed more than 700 people in our milkshed
- Sold 1.64 billion glasses of milk
- Exported 25% of our milk supply in the form of powder and butter
- Donated the equivalent of 1,400 gallons of milk to people in need
- Funded $7,000 in scholarships to up-and-coming dairy leaders
- Donated more than $12,000 to dairy community events through our MDVA Fund
We hope you’ll join us in celebrating National Ag Day by sharing your story, tagging Maryland & Virginia, and using #AgDay22.
National Ag Day is organized by the Agriculture Council of America. The ACA is a nonprofit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community, dedicating its efforts to increasing the public’s awareness of agriculture’s role in modern society. The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:
- Understand how food and fiber products are produced
- Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant, and affordable products
- Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy
- Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food, and fiber industry
