Dairy Roadmap

The Climate Roadmap for Washington State Dairy provides dairy producers with practical, research-based strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining productive, profitable, and responsible operations. Building on Washington dairies’ long history of environmental stewardship, the roadmap focuses on near-term opportunities that improve efficiency, animal well-being, and soil and water quality.

The roadmap highlights two overall complementary approaches to reduce a farm’s footprint: reducing emissions directly through management and technology changes and improving efficiency by producing more milk with the same emissions footprint. It offers a range of strategies that can be implemented to reduce emissions and improve on-farm efficiency through four major on-farm emission sources: feed production, cow digestion, manure management, and energy use.

Recognizing that every dairy operation is different, the roadmap offers options rather than mandates. Producers can explore recommendations tailored by region and farm size, as well as state-specific and organic systems guidance, allowing farms to select strategies that align with their priorities, infrastructure, and long-term goals.

Explore the Dairy Roadmap webpage.