Athian Teams Up On A Combined $80 Million In Grant Funding For Methane Mitigation In U.S. Dairy

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. [December 14, 2023] — On November 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that more than $1️ billion of investment to advance partner-driven conservation solutions on agricultural land and in livestock. The funding is part of the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) which awarded 81 proposals, including 10 dairy centric projects.

U.S. dairy, responsible for less than 2% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, can address on-farm emission reductions through feed production, enteric emissions, manure management and energy. More than 60% of these emissions, however, result from enteric and manure emissions. The projects awarded primarily focus on manure management and feed additive solutions targeting enteric methane emissions.

At Athian we are pleased to be included in eight dairy projects, listed below, with funding totaling over $80M, and impacting a total of 1.7 million metric tons of CO₂e reduction.  Athian will serve these remarkable grant awards through in-kind contributions of technical assistance and an insetting marketplace to track the collective impact achieved.  Athian's cloud-based marketplace benchmarks, verifies, and monetizes on-farm GHG reductions – providing access to credible Scope 3 assets and market-backed incentives to provide ongoing reductions. 

“Our lead grant partners are demonstrating immense leadership by leveraging the use of public and private dollars to provide access to markets that will provide a lasting impact on the economic and environmental viability of U.S. Dairy farmers” said Paul Myer, Founder and CEO of Athian.

Newtrient was awarded three grants totaling over $18 million in funding to support dairy methane emission reduction projects, including implementation of separation and storage manure technologies and feed management in the Midwest and Idaho

In addition to the $18 million NRCS funds, the projects have an additional committed funding of $7 million collectively from dairy companies who will purchase the reduction outcomes generated by the producer as carbon insets.

“As a partner in these projects, Athian is providing a critical platform to verify reductions and deliver trusted outcomes to participating dairy companies seeking to reduce scope 3 emissions,” said Chris Kopman, CEO at Newtrient 

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Newtrient’s projects include:

• Accelerating Methane Emission Reductions in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana Dairy Producers in partnership with Foremost Farms USA
  Leveraging $9M in RCPP funding and $4M in partner contributions, this project will help dairy farms in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana reduce methane emissions through implementing NRCS conservation practices focused on manure management and feed management to achieve a reduction of 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
  

• Methane Avoidance on Dairy Farms in Michigan Milk Producers Association Region in partnership with Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA), and a dairy supply chain company
  Leveraging $6.2M in RCPP funding and $2M in partner contributions, this project aims to implement methane-emissions-reducing practices focused on manure management and feed management on farms in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, resulting in a reduction of 47,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
  
  
• Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Idaho Dairy Farms in partnership with McDonald’s, Schreiber Foods, and Glanbia Nutritionals
  Leveraging $3.1M in RCPP funding and $1.6M in partner contributions, this project seeks to reduce methane emissions through manure management and feed management practices on Idaho dairy farms, resulting in a reduction of 37,500 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

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California Dairies, Inc. was awarded a pivotal $21.4 million grant. Through innovative feed-based interventions, this grant will empower the CDI Sustainability Team to launch a program for their dairy producers to significantly reduce and avoid greenhouse gas emissions. The project's Absolute Enteric Methane Reductions will pave the way for the adoption of eco-friendly feed additives in a market responsible for 9% of the U.S.'s on-farm milk supply.

AgSpire Inc. is the lead partner in the $16.5 million grant “Absolute Enteric Methane Reductions in Washington State Dairies: A New Frontier on the Journey to Net Zero” project. This project utilizes feed additives to help dairy producers reduce and avoid greenhouse gas emissions in the state of Washington in partnership with Northwest Dairy Association/Darigold. 

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national dairy cooperative owned by nearly 11,000 family farmers, was selected to receive $22.8 million to implement a pilot project to reduce methane emissions on dairy farms through the use of an innovative feed additive. DFA’s grant will focus on working with interested farmer-owners to incorporate an enhanced feed additive into feed rations to reduce enteric methane emissions on dairy farms in California, Idaho and Utah.

Tillamook County Creamery Association received a $4 million grant to fund the Oregon Dairy Climate and Water Quality Partnership project. The funds will be used to assist dairy producers in Clatsop and Tillamook counties in Oregon toward projects like targeting implementation of high-outcome NRCS practice standards to improve water quality and reduce methane emissions, as well as driving producer adoption of these practices through locally-led conservation efforts. The project leverages partnerships, collaborating closely with local stakeholders such as TCCA and the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership. 

Agropur was awarded $9.8 million towards the “Dairy Producers Best Management Practices” project which will incentivize the implementation of Best Management Practices at farms across the central US. In addition to delivering greenhouse gas emissions reductions, these strategies provide environmental benefits, including air quality improvements, soil protection, water protection, and resource conservation. Funding from RCPP, alongside funds from Agropur and Nestlé, will provide financial incentives and technical assistance to farmers, including Historically Underserved producers.

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Enteric methane reduction carbon credits are now available for purchase through Athian’s insetting carbon marketplace. Visit https://www.athian.ag to learn more and connect directly with Athian. 

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Additional Resources:

https://www.athian.ag/knowledge-hub

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About Athian

At Athian, we are technology experts with farming in our genes. We enable environmental sustainability for animal agriculture because we believe in being good stewards of the earth’s resources for generations to come. We use software to aggregate, certify, and fund greenhouse gas reductions throughout the entire livestock value-chain. Athian’s platform is an industry-based analytics tool that enables the livestock industry to improve sustainability by providing carbon credits. Athian’s carbon credit marketplace provides quality greenhouse gas credits that fund livestock producers’ sustainability measures. Athian is a High Alpha Innovation company based in Indianapolis, Ind. Learn how to join us in this effort at www.athian.ag

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Athian Media Contact

‍Corey Scott
(651) 262-3545
‍corey@athian.ag