Phyllis Van Amburgh manages the Dharma Lea dairy farm alongside her husband and five children. The family’s focus is regenerative farming, a method that enhances the ecosystem.
“What we do here on this farm is a little different than what's on trend for the dairy industry," said Van Amburgh.
All of their 250-plus cows are 100% grass-fed. By not relying on annual crops for animal feeds, they’re able to minimize soil erosion and water use.
“Ground that’s more fertile, that grows healthier crops, crops with more nutrition in them, cleaner streams, that to me is a no-brainer for the future," said Van Amburgh.
However, the shift to regenerative farming can be costly for farmers already struggling to make ends meet. When Phyllis quit feeding grain to her livestock in 2008, the farm owed $15,000 to its grain supplier.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is distributing $60 million to New York farm and forest landowners to expand sustainable farming and mitigate the effects of climate change.
“The incentives are designed to ease that transition that, in the end, isn’t just better for everybody else, but is actually better for the producers themselves," said Van Amburgh.
Since 2010, Phyllis and her husband have helped more than 100 small dairy farms transition to a grass-fed model.
“With better management practices, we can get the kind of growth, nutrition and plant density that goes up year after year. And that's a real benefit, because grassroots are pretty extensive, and that can pull a lot of carbon and put it back into the soil," said Van Amburgh.
A 2022 report from the Department of Agriculture found that a decade-long smart climate initiative helped reduce CO2 emissions by more than 1 million tons and water erosion by 76 million tons.
Phyllis’ goal is two-fold.
“That not only supplies high quality nutritious food for people that we don’t know, but maintains the ecology for our kids," said Van Amburgh.
She hopes the federal funding can provide more opportunities for farmers looking to embrace eco-friendly practices.