Defra and the UK dairy industry have launched a Milk Roadmap that aims to reduce the environmental impacts of producing and consuming liquid milk.

The draft document contains a set of short, medium and long-term actions to improve the environmental performance of the dairy sector. For example, dairy producers have committed to reducing the greenhouse gas balance (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) from dairy farms by 20-30% between 1990 and 2020. The production sector has also undertaken to boost the number of dairy farmers taking part in environmental stewardship schemes to 65%, nutrient planning to 90% and animal health plans to 95%, enhancing their ecosystems, improving animal welfare and cutting emissions from soil and fertiliser.

Among the targets milk processors have committed to meeting or beating is a 30% reduction in water use from 2007 levels in absolute terms by 2020. England has approximately 10,000 dairy farms, with a further 6,000 in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all ranging in size. The average English dairy farm has 100 cows.

The Roadmap outlines a number of environmental initiatives ranging from nutrient planning and water efficiency measures to protection and maintenance of the rural environment. As a result of the Roadmap, the farming sector will undertake to increase the amount of farmland managed under the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS) to 65%, encourage 90% of dairy farmers to nutrient plan and improve water efficiency by up to 15% per litre of milk. The intitiative is seeking to  enhance and conserve farm ecosystems, save water resources and reduce air and water pollution through nutrient losses.

With regard to water efficiency, the Roadmap states that “It is likely that environmental constraints associated with the water environment will become more stringent as the Water Framework Directive is implemented regionally by the River Basin Management Plans. Much work is already being done; however, there is a need for national roll out of voluntary schemes that work in tandem with existing incentives such as Environmental Stewardship. There are some real challenges with regards to water resource availability for all sectors, not just agricultural, and particularly in those areas defined by the Environment Agency as water stressed.”

Nitrous oxide emissions to soil and consequent leaching into water courses and the water table is an issue of ongoing concern to the water industry which has to deal with removing the ensuing polltants. The Water Framework Directive means the “polluter pays principle” will impact on a wide range of industrial sectors and agriculture is in a vulnerable position.

The Roadmap states that

“ nitrogen efficiency, i.e. matching nitrogen inputs to crop and livestock diet requirements offers the most attractive option for reducing soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. It addresses several issues, such as N2O emissions, nitrate leaching and ammonia emission, without pollution swapping and has no secondary or knock-on effects. Manure and nutrient management, advisory and regulatory initiatives offer significant scope for improvement.”

However, for many farmers nitrogen planning under the revised Nitrates Action Programme proposals will be a big step and the Roadmap takes the view that nutrient planning more widely across the dairy industry will require more ‘user friendly’ tools to be developed.

Launching the Roadmap, Minister For Food and Farming Jeff Rooker said:

"Dairy products are enjoyed by almost everyone in the UK; there are very few households without a carton of milk in the fridge. The dairy industry has acted responsibly in the past to cut its environmental impact, and this Roadmap provides a major new tool to achieve that. Delivering on the targets contained in the document will be a significant achievement. I welcome the UK dairy industry's collaborative approach in developing this plan of action."

The Roadmap is a living document and will be revisited in September 2008.