Culture Magazine

52 culturecheesemag.com THE HOT LIS T 2024 The power of collaboration fosters growth in movements. In the dairy industry, groups are breaking down barriers and igniting culinary innovations while supporting sustainable and equitable practices. Cheesemakers, scientists, and entrepreneurs understand that partnerships make it easier to expand initiatives. By asking for help and combining collective strengths, they are creating some of the most exciting innovations in cheese. CONVERTING CURDS TO ENERGY The team at Cabot Creamery is committed to caring for their community and ensuring future generations have access to delicious yogurts, cheeses, and butter. To achieve this goal, Jed Davis, vice president of strategic engagement and sustainability, believes the process starts with collective action. "You don't succeed at sustainability without partnerships or relationships," Davis says. "When it comes to conversations around implementing sustainable practices, it's important to pull the veil on all of the work it takes for something to happen that might seem super small because there are so many factors at play." This collaborative spirit allowed Cabot to address the issue of dairy wastewater—a problem that affects the entire industry. Water is used extensively throughout dairy production, and in the process it becomes contaminated with organic materials, residues, and, sometimes, chemicals. If released into nature, the contaminated water can harm wildlife and humans. Cabot's sustainability team worked with farmers, policy experts, co-op members, developers, and community leaders to devise a solution for diverting their dairy waste to Barstow's Longview Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts, which is equipped with an anaerobic digester that converts the by- product into electrical and thermal energy and fertilizer—a project that took over eight years to implement. "The [farm] embraced something that we were interested in as a co-op, which was improving the value of co-digestion to address issues of renewable energy and food waste," Davis explains. While these collaborations take time, the results are worth it. The digester's energy powers the farm to grow hay and corn, which feeds the animals that provide milk for Cabot's production. It also powers the surrounding community, including Cabot's butter plant in West Springfield, Massachusetts, which completes the loop. CUTTING DOWN SILOS IN CHEESE An exploration of how collaborative mindsets progress the dairy industry WRITTEN BY ASHIA AUBOURG

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