Grant includes providing dairy cattle nutrition consulting services to participating DFA members to create Climate Smart Dairy Plans.

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is releasing a Request for Proposals (RFP) in association with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Climate Smart Commodities Grant program.

DFA was awarded a grant under the USDA Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities Grant program in 2023.

One aspect of the grant is to provide dairy cattle nutrition consulting services to DFA members participating in the grant to create Climate Smart Dairy Plans (CSDPs). CSDPs will focus on reducing dairy cattle enteric methane production through the use of feed additives and other nutritional strategies. The grant focuses on three milk sheds in the U.S. — Garden City, Kan.; Bridgeton, N.J.; and Franklin, Mass.

Consultants as Technical Assistance Providers (TAPs) will be responsible for meeting with farms and their current nutritionist, developing baselines and action plans, inputting data and evaluating outcomes with participating DFA members. TAPs will help develop a plan to optimize feeding and feed rations, which will enhance the effect of feed additives, and they will be responsible for creating the protocol for each individual farm to utilize feed additives and supporting the farm in implementing the protocol. Approximately 228 members are targeted to participate in this portion of the grant. Interested parties may receive an RFP package with more detail by emailing sustainabilityteam@dfamilk.com. Requests for RFP packages are due by January 1, 2024.