When seeking your next executive leader for your company, it’s crucial to find someone looking towards the agricultural industry’s future. As the Ag industry calls for more focus on clean and renewable energy, companies will need executive leaders to help pivot their business towards the future. Today’s emerging C-suite, business managers, and executives have the expertise in renewable energy and know-how to position the Ag industry towards a safer and cleaner process.

What Is the Dairy Industry’s Tie to Renewable Energy?

All food production has an impact on the environment. Responsible food production strives to reduce this impact. It is encouraging that the dairy industry continually aims to reduce its carbon footprint on the earth. Just in the past few decades, the dairy industry has made strides in improving its impact on the environment:

• In 2008, U.S. Dairy conducted the first full life cycle assessment within the agricultural food sector at a national level. This audit revealed dairy product contributes only two percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
• Comparing the environmental impact of dairy production from 1994 to 2007 found that producing a gallon of milk in 2007 uses 90 percent less land, 65 percent less water, and a 63 percent smaller carbon footprint than in 1944.
• Comparing the environmental impact of dairy production from 2007 to 2017 found the impact continued to shrink – requiring 21 percent less land, 30 percent less water, and a 19 percent smaller carbon footprint than it did in 2007.

Despite the dairy industry’s continual push to reduce its carbon footprint, there’s always progress to make. Therefore, leaders in the dairy industry need to find new ways to fulfill the increasing demand for dairy products while still adopting methods and technologies that increase efficiency while reducing resource use and diminishing its environmental impact.

The Dairy Industry Wants to Build a Sustainable Future

The dairy industry knows how important it is to produce food responsibly to ensure our communities and planet are healthy. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announced its 2050 environmental stewardship goals to improve dairy’s role in building a sustainable future:

• Achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality 
• Optimize water usage while maximizing recycling
• Improve water quality by optimizing utilization of manure and nutrients

These goals extend to all U.S. dairy organizations and companies. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is working with community members to make new technologies accessible and affordable for the dairy industry. 

The Benefits of Using Renewable Energy

There are many advantages towards utilizing renewable energy and helping the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. Positioning your business towards renewable energy allows you to establish yourself as an industry leader, save money, utilize new technology, and help the planet. 

Here are some of the best benefits of using renewable energy:

Tax Benefits

Several government tax credits (like the energy investment credit (ITC) and renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC)), grants, and loan programs are available for those using renewable energy technologies. 

In addition, depending on your state, there are financial incentives to support or subsidize the cost of installing renewable energy equipment.

New Technology

The U.S. dairy supply chain is creating viable strategies to help the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy achieve its 2050 environmental stewardship goals. These strategies include attracting investments and partners to ignite new technologies and innovation. Additionally, they are looking for ways to increase the dairy industry’s utilization and expansion of best practices, resources, and tools.

By joining in on renewable energy, your company will have the chance to utilize these technologies, resources, and tools to better production efficiency and lower your carbon footprint.

Return on Investment

While investing in renewable energy can be a significant contribution of funds now, which can potentially be subsidized depending on your state, it will help you save money for years to come. Companies using renewable energy will see savings on their energy bills, maintenance fees, and repairs. So when it comes to a return on investment, renewable energy is the strategic choice in the long run.

Ag Source 1 Can Help You Find Your Next Leader for Renewable Energy

At Ag Source 1, we know you need executive leaders with the capabilities, expertise, and experience to save your business from huge overheads, rampant inefficiencies, and reliance on fossil fuels. Our team will work alongside yours to identify the right executive talent that will skyrocket your organization toward healthy and profitable growth. If your organization is looking for high-performing leaders, contact our team today for top talent.