After touting itself as a leader in America’s climate-smart future, the dairy industry may be going sour on cutting cow emissions.
With a Trump administration now in charge, dairy groups appear to be shying away from the idea that the industry should reduce the methane that cows burp into the air after eating — so-called enteric emissions — that account for a good share of the greenhouse gases tied to livestock.
The cause had scientific backing and plenty of supportive federal money during the Biden administration. But the new administration has moved to cancel climate-smart agriculture funding, reflecting President Donald Trump’s view that global warming caused by human activity is a hoax.
Some dairy companies, such as France-based Danone, continue to pursue and talk about greenhouse gas reduction goals. And the trade group for U.S. farmer-owned dairy cooperatives, the National Milk Producers Federation, told POLITICO’s E&E News it still supports the initiatives, whether they’re called climate-smart or something more in tune with the political moment.
