ACR212 - Dairy Month.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 212 CHAPTER 190 Relative to Dairy Month. [ Filed with Secretary of State August 20, 2026. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 212, Macedo. Dairy Month. This measure would proclaim the month of June to be Dairy Month in California. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill Text WHEREAS, June is National Dairy Month; and WHEREAS, California, the nation’s largest farming state, producing more than 400 agricultural commodities, is also the top dairy producing state in the nation, with dairy being California’s top agricultural commodity; and WHEREAS, California produces and processes about 18 percent of all United States farm milk into a variety of products that both stay local and are shipped out of the state and nation, including butter, milk powders, cheese, ice cream, and whey and milk protein products; and WHEREAS, California is the country’s leading producer of butter, ice cream, and nonfat dry milk and is the second largest cheese and yogurt producer; and WHEREAS, Over 250 varieties and styles of cheese are made in the state of California; and WHEREAS, Milk is an affordable source of 13 essential nutrients, including protein, calcium, and vitamin D; and WHEREAS, To get the same amount of calcium provided by one 8-ounce glass of milk, a person would have to eat 4.5 servings of broccoli, 16 servings of spinach, or 5.8 servings of whole wheat bread; and WHEREAS, One in five Californians have uncertain or inconsistent access to food, and dairy products are an effective and affordable source of nutrition to California’s families; and WHEREAS, To do their part in helping to address this gap, California dairy organizations collectively donated more than 3,600,000 pounds of dairy products to local food banks in 2023; and WHEREAS, Ninety-nine percent of California dairy farms are family owned, and dairy farming and processing in California collectively represented 151,859 jobs in 2024; and WHEREAS, California’s dairy industry generates $69.1 billion annually in dairy-related economic activity, including $23.2 billion in direct economic activity; and WHEREAS, California dairies are leading the way in environmental stewardship and have reduced the carbon footprint of each gallon of milk produced by more than 45% over the past five decades; and WHEREAS, The amount of water used to produce a gallon of milk in California has decreased by more than 88% over the past 50 years; and WHEREAS, Forty percent of feed comes from agricultural byproducts in California farm rations, greatly reducing the environmental footprint of California dairies, including byproducts that would otherwise go into the waste stream like spent brewer’s grain, grape pomace, almond hulls, citrus pulp, and cottonseed; and WHEREAS, In compliance with Senate Bill 1383 (Chapter 395 of the Statutes of 2016), this year, through various strategies and partnerships, the state’s dairy farms will achieve an annual methane emissions reduction of 5,000,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e); and WHEREAS, California has 168 dairy digesters operating, with about 70 more projects in development; and WHEREAS, Digesters capture methane from manure storage and put it to productive use as carbon-negative transportation fuel or for other renewable energy needs, and as projects under development come online, methane from manure will be captured from 270 dairy farms, creating either renewable electricity, renewable natural gas, or hydrogen fuel, with estimated total annual reductions from projects operating to date of 2,650,000 MTCO2e; and WHEREAS, California’s dairy digester program, the Department of Food and Agriculture’s Dairy Digester Research and Development Program, is responsible for achieving 20 percent of greenhouse gas reductions from all climate programs invested in by the state with just 1.5 percent of total funds awarded; and WHEREAS, California dairy farms have implemented more than 145 alternative manure management projects, with another 75 projects funded and in development, and these projects include manure separators, compost pack barns, manure scrape and vacuum systems, and other practices that avoid methane creation from manure management operations, with estimated total annual reductions from projects operating to date of 280,500 MTCO2e; and WHEREAS, The Department of Food and Agriculture’s Alternative Manure Management Program is one of the state’s most cost-effective programs, providing one ton of greenhouse gas reduction for every $67 invested by the state; and WHEREAS, California dairy farms continue to shrink their environmental footprint by producing more milk with fewer cows, and milk production efficiencies continue to be gained in many ways, including improved animal nutrition, selective breeding, and enhanced animal care and comfort; and WHEREAS, Overall, while total milk production has remained relatively stable, the number of dairy cows in California has continued to shrink, resulting in far fewer emissions, with estimated total annual reductions achieved between 2013 to 2022, inclusive, of 2,130,000 MTCO2e; now, therefore be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of June to be Dairy Month in California, recognizing California as the number one dairy state; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.