Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) has launched what it calls a new strategy to cut dairy farm emissions by 25% and processor emissions by 35% by 2030.

The strategy is called 'Pathways to Sustainable Dairy', and, according to DII, outlines industry wide goals to drive "joined-up, measurable, and validated environmental, social and economic metrics".

DII, which represents the dairy processing sector in Ireland, said the strategy provides a "clear credible roadmap" to secure the long-term viability of the sector, and "ensuring it remains a competitive, confidence-inspiring industry for the next generation of dairy farmers".

The strategy was developed under the auspices of the industry-wide Dairy Sustainability Ireland initiative, and, according to DII, it was developed in "deep consultation" with processors, farmers, policymakers, regulators, and support agencies.

The strategy was launched today (Friday, July 3) by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon.

The "pathways" identified in the strategy include increased investment, enhanced water quality action, and targeted emissions mitigation as "core priorities to safeguard Ireland’s unique grass-based, family farm production system".

DII said the plan "directly aligns" with Ireland's presidency of the Council of the EU (which kicked off on Wednesday of this week), with key EU policies like the Livestock Strategy, and the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), set to be notable features of Ireland's presidency.

The strategy commits to lowering 2030 farm emissions by 25% and processor emissions by 35% relative to 2018 baselines.

This environmental mitigation will be paired with more widespread deployment of the Farming for Water action plans across the sector by 2028.

That initiative will be supported by a network of "at least" 50 water quality advisors alongside 2,000 annual farm-level assessments.

On-farm innovation and animal care are also features of the strategy, with the proposed expanded use of genotyping and sexed semen, and a target of reaching a 75% milk recording rate across herds by 2027.

To ensure these practices are financially viable to adopt, processors will provide an ongoing €35 million annual investment to incentivise sustainable farm-level practices, "placing a vital emphasis on economic resilience to protect rural livelihoods".

Progress across all these metrics will be backed by transparent, science-based data capture systems with mandatory annual public reporting, according to DII.

The launch of the strategy coincides with a new progress update "highlighting the strong momentum already achieved by the Irish dairy sector".

According to DII, the data shows a 9% reduction in farm-level emissions intensity on a rolling three-year basis against a 2014-2016 baseline, alongside a 3% drop in processing emissions—even during a period of 20% volume growth.

The sectoral body also said that Ireland maintains the highest water quality among major European dairy producers.

DII also said the sector continues to "be a cornerstone of the regional economy", supporting 54,000 full-time jobs and generating €17.6 billion in total output across 17,000 farm families.

Commenting on the strategy, Dairy Sustainability Ireland representative Kevin Maher said: "The dairy sector is committed to accelerating the sustainability progress made to date through a focus on delivering measurable impacts across clearly identified priority areas.

"This aligns with the direction of the National Climate Action Plan and marketplace requirements, as leading customers commit to more sustainable value chains," Maher added.

"Delivering on this will require significant effort by all stakeholders, and transparency is central to this document, with a commitment to report annually," he said.