Holsum Dairy sustainability

The Operation
Holsum Dairies, located in Northeastern Wisconsin, was
started in 2001. Currently 30 employees work full time at
the operation caring for 3,700 dairy cows. Farmers on
4,000 acres of farmland surrounding Holsum supply the
operation with feed and recycle manure. An anaerobic
manure digester helps control odors and yields 750 kW of
electricity.
Why an Environmental Management System?
Kenn Buelow, manager of Holsum Dairies, joins other dairy
producers in Northeastern Wisconsin who have expressed
concern about the environmental impacts of their farming
operations. According to Buelow, public perception of their
industry is increasingly important as the need for dairy
farms to grow and add cows conflicts with a growing nonfarm
population. "The EMS seems like a way that we might
address these concerns in a systematic way," he states.
In addition to guiding his environmental planning and
communications, the EMS has created a new way to work
with state environmental regulators. Buelow observes, "We
have a working relationship with the DNR rather than just
a regulatory relationship; now we are talking about goals
rather than purely regulations."
Changes for the better with an AgEMS
• Current and planned environmental improvements are
centrally documented.
• Key employees are engaged in planning and attaining
environmental goals.
• The relationship with state environmental regulators
has fundamentally changed and better serves everyone's
interests.
• Collaboration with local government on a constructed
wet retention pond has improved runoff control and road
safety.
• The manure loading area has been systematically
evaluated, resulting in less tracking of manure onto roads.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Holsum
• Dairy
• 2010