Dairy farmers push cow power

In the 1990s, “things go better with Coca Cola” was the catchy slogan dairy farmers dreaded. At the time, milk producers were in a head-to-head battle with soft drink giants and losing.

Milk consumption had steadily declined over the previous two decades. One key reason was aggressive advertising by bottlers of iced tea, water and pop. In 1993, nationwide milk consumption declined 20% and was down to less than one cup per person per day.

So, in 1993 California’s dairy industry decided to mount an aggressive advertising effort. It was coordinated by the California Milk Processor Board with a $23 million budget. The board collected 3 cents per gallon from the industry to pay for it.

The campaign, branded as Got Milk, was one of the most successful ever. It increased consumption by effectively using humor, catchy taglines,and celebrity endorsements.

However, today the battle for survival is not as much about consumer buying preferences as it is about public understanding about industry’s environment improvements. More specifically, it is about dairy farmers’ initiative to control greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane.

According to Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture is responsible for 24% of greenhouse gases worldwide. Globally, beef and dairy cattle contribute 9% of the total.

Anaerobic digesters prevent methane from escaping into the atmosphere because the lagoon’s surface is covered, and the gases are trapped inside. Captured gases are often injected into natural gas pipelines to power vehicles. It is renewable natural gas

A portion of the methane is used to generate electricity and heat farm buildings and homes.

For example, in Snohomish County, Wash., there is a joint effort between Werkhoven Dairy in Monroe and the nearby Tulalip Tribe. In 2008, a digester was installed at the farm to capture methane and to keep manure from running off fields and into the nearby Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers.

Eight dairy digesters, using manure from a dozen dairies, have been installed in Washington state since 2004, the state Department of Ecology reports.

Back in California, dairy farmers have had environmental challenges. Rather than just watching the back-and-forth jousting between scientists, the California Milk Processor Board decided it needed public understanding and information from its side.

It took a page from Got Milk and launched its “Happy Cow” campaign with a clever stick puppet cartoon clip called Cow Power featuring talking singing and dancing Holsteins and cow pies. It is an old-fashion hoedown with swinging guitar playing cows, fun music and catchy ditties. Lovable puppets announce “California is going greener with little bit of brown.”

The ad lit up the internet. It is simple, understandable and entertaining.

Manure is collected and dumped into a digester. Dung is cooked and comes out as renewable gas. Gone is the methane from rotting open-air cow pies and a byproduct is a more friendly fertilizer. It also minimizes water contamination.

Hopefully, Cow Power leads to a better understanding of efforts on our farms to eliminate pollution. We need to remember that farmers feed our hungry world.

— Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer, and columnist. He can be contacted at [email protected].