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2026 Projects: Dairy Sustainability Key Performance Indicators

What opportunities are available to improve sustainability on your dairy farm?

Dairy Sustainability Indicators
Environmental stewardship is a foundational pillar of dairy farming's future. Dairy farms are increasingly asked to document sustainability indicators related to nutrient use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water quality, production efficiency, and biodiversity. At the same time, farms need practical, science-based tools with clear key performance indicators (KPIs) that support management decisions while maintaining or improving economic viability.

This project brings together whole-farm nutrient mass balances (NMBs), GHG indicators, and biodiversity metrics to help dairy farms understand current performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and track progress over time. Participating farm identities are kept confidential.

Whole-Farm Sustainability Assessments

Whole-Farm Nutrient Mass Balances
Whole-farm analyses are central to regenerative and efficient agriculture. Through the NMSP's whole-farm NMB approach, we evaluate nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) imports, exports, and use efficiency at the farm level. Farms that routinely review their NMBs tend to improve them over time. Individual farm records frequently demonstrate substantial improvements in P management, and across New York State we have documented a 20-30% reduction in N and P imports among participating farms. These reductions translate into cost savings, improved nutrient use efficiency, and reduced environmental footprint. The NMBs provide a practical and achievable metric for understanding nutrient movement onto, within, and away from the farm, and for identifying farm-specific opportunities to reduce nutrient losses and watershed loading.

If you would like to know your farm's NMB, complete the input sheet (available as a fillable PDF data sheet and an Excel Spreadsheet). Completed forms can be sent to Quirine Ketterings via email qmk2@cornell.edu or mail. Mailing address and instructions for input sheets can be found in the "Additional Resources" section below.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Indicators
The dairy industry faces growing demand for credible GHG reporting. This project evaluates whole-farm GHG indicators alongside NMBs to provide a more complete picture of dairy sustainability. We assess a range of GHG-related tools and KPIs by examining:

  • How comprehensive each tool is
  • The amount and complexity of data required
  • The comparability of results across farms and tools

We also identify key drivers of results, such as crop yields, fertilizer use, feed purchases, herd replacement rate, and manure management. This allows farms and advisors to focus on management changes that deliver meaningful improvements.

Above-ground Biodiversity on Dairy Farms
Biodiversity is an increasingly important component of agricultural sustainability, yet it remains challenging to assess consistently and practically. This project, integrates biodiversity-related indicators into whole-farm sustainability assessments. Our biodiversity work focuses on:

  • Identifying biodiversity aspects most relevant to New York dairy farms,
  • Determining what data are feasible to collect in whole-farm assessments, and
  • Developing locally relevant, farm-scale biodiversity indicators.

Linking biodiversity indicators with nutrient management and GHG outcomes helps highlight practices that deliver multiple environmental benefits and document sustainability efforts already in place.

Comparing your Farm to Others
For each assessment, participating farms receive:

  • Their own whole-farm results over time,
  • Benchmark comparisons across participating farms, and
  • Identification of farm-specific opportunities for improvement.

These comparisons support informed discussions between producers and their advisors, including nutrient management planners, nutritionists, and agribusiness partners. The goal is not regulation, but continuous improvement, grounded in realistic, farm-specific benchmarks.

Student Engagement and Education
Education is a core component of this project. High school students and undergraduate interns are actively involved in whole-farm sustainability assessment through:

  • Data collection and organization,
  • Running NMB, GHG, and other sustainability tools
  • Analyzing results and preparing farm summaries, and
  • Participating in farm review meetings.

Students also gain exposure through fieldwork, extension events, training sessions, and interaction with producers, advisors, faculty, and researchers. These experiences help build the next generation of professionals in dairy and agricultural sustainability.

For more information about this project, contact Quirine Ketterings (qmk2@cornell.edu or 607-255-3061). You can also write to: Quirine Ketterings, Nutrient Management Spear Program, Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, 323 Morrison Hall, Ithaca NY 14853.

Goals

Through this work, NMSP aims to: (1) Evaluate multiple sustainability KPI's on case-study dairy farms statewide; (2) Provide practical, whole-farm solutions that reduce environmental footprints while improving efficiency and economics; (3) Develop extension materials, agronomy fact sheets, and popular press articles; (4) Share findings through extension meetings and outreach events; (5) Educate and mentor students in whole-farm sustainability assessments and (6) Document farm and student impact stories.


Funding Sources

This project has been sponsored by grants from Chobani, USDA Conservation Innovation Grants (USDA-CIG), Northern NY Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Towards Sustainability Foundation, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NESARE), and Cornell Cooperative Extension Summer Internship Program.

Additional Resources

Farmer Impact Stories

Fact Sheets

Extension Articles

Journal Articles