a2 Milk® Sustainable Agriculture Landcare Grants celebrate 5 years of supporting Australian dairy farmers
Over the past 5 years, a2 Milk® and Landcare Australia have provided more than $850,000 to support 30 projects to improve on-farm sustainability and business outcomes for a2 Milk® dairy farmers. Ranging from increasing biodiversity and reducing erosion to improving productivity and pasture health, the projects have cemented a2 Milk® dairy farmers as some of the most innovative, sustainable farmers in the industry.
Dedicated to supporting local landcarers, many of the grant recipients are family owned and operated farms, including the Billings family- recipients of one of the 2021 a2 Milk® Sustainable Agriculture Landcare Grants, who run a highly productive dairy farm of 190 cows in Dorrigo, NSW.
Passionate about landcare and reducing the carbon footprint of his farm, third-generation farmer Tim Billing was thrilled to receive a grant of $25,000 to reduce energy consumption, improving on-farm sustainability and reducing operating costs. The funding allowed him to install a variable speed drive- a proven solution across the dairy industry to reduce energy consumption, a solar hot water system, and a second group of solar panels to expand existing solar power generation.
With the projects able to be completed quickly, the Billings have already seen a reduction in the use of imported energy, and expect further decreases in energy use in future. Tim Billing praised the fantastic results of the project, saying, “It has been a great step forward to reducing our overall carbon footprint and building towards a more sustainable business.”
Building on the fantastic work of previous grant recipients, this year seven a2 Milk® dairy farmers across NSW, VIC and WA have received grants of up to $35,000 each to fund projects focused on:
- Wastewater management
- Solar power installation
- Water infrastructure upgrades
- Effluent management
- Compost and manure management
Landcare Australia and a2 Milk® are excited to see the impact these fantastic projects have on improving sustainability and business outcomes on a2 Milk® farms across Australia, and look forward to supporting even more incredible projects through their ongoing partnership.
There are 25 certified a2 Milk® dairy farms across Australia. Each cow on these farms has been selected to produce only the A2 protein and none of the A1 protein found in regular cows’ milk.
