Off the coast of India sits a small country that’s currently serving as the testing ground for the Columbo Declaration, a UN global campaign on Sustainable Nitrogen Management. In fact, that small country, Sri Lanka, is leading the world effort, with aims to reduce their nitrogen waste by half by 2030.

If you work in any industry about which the public isn’t well-educated, you know that in the absence of facts, people will try to find patterns or fill-in-the-blank themselves where they have knowledge gaps. Rarely does this end in any kind of positivity.

What these billionaire investors want you to believe is that they are being incredibly benevolent in their investments. They market their support of a sustainable and climate friendly agriculture as their gift to the world at large. They share stories of how innovation in agriculture will help eliminate world hunger and safeguard the planet for future generations. They speak of the building a better future by harnessing the technology and innovation of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Their marketing game is on point.

So a dairy farm’s purpose is to produce milk, right? And milk comes from female cows, right? So you might be wondering what we do with bulls that are born on our farm.

Taking calves away from their mama cow is a common practice on dairy farms. Why do we do this?

Let’s put the misconception that cows are causing climate change to rest. Dairy farmers are producing four times as much milk with almost one third the number of cows.

Dairy cows are not the same as beef cows. They should not and do not look alike. They are bred, and therefore built, differently and for their own specific purposes.

It’s important to understand cattle vaccines and why we choose to vaccinate our dairy cows. Ultimately, we want to make our cows’ lives better, safer and healthier.

We use glyphosate every year on the corn we feed our cows. We apply about a soda can (12oz) for every acre. Our corn is sprayed when it is about 1.5 to 2 feet tall—and that is the only time we spray.

Oregon dairy farmer, Derrick Josi, discusses large dairy farms.