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California dairy farms will soon be able to feed their cows seaweed to fight climate change after the state Department of Food and Agriculture approved the use of a seaweed feed shown to reduce methane emissions from cow burps, the first in the U.S. to do so.

Albert Straus, an organic dairy farmer in Marin County, California, made it his intention to look at how he could meet those goals and what it would take on his dairy farm to do just that. He wanted to be progressive, forward-thinking and a part of the solution.

At a Marin dairy farm this summer, cows got a little something extra in their organic hay and alfalfa: a sprinkle of seaweed powder that holds promise for helping the state achieve ambitious climate goals.

In his dungarees and rubber boots, Albert Straus looked every bit the dairy farmer that he is. On this particular morning, however, the 66-year-old founder and CEO of Straus Family Creamery was some 25 miles from his family farm.

In 2021, an increasing number of water providers across California will be forced to prepare for water shortages as the state’s drought intensifies. For some locales, this could mean mandatory or voluntary restrictions on residential water use.

When it comes to the bodies of humans and animals, there are a few functions that we’re usually discouraged from talking about. Specifically, the ones that involve releasing gas. (Yep, burps and farts.)

Beef and dairy production are considered important drivers of climate change, contributing roughly 5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in the form of methane released by cattle and other ruminant animals.

What does a small trash bin tucked in the corner of a Straus Family Creamery executive office have to do with climate change?

In one of his first acts in office, President Biden said he wants farmers and ranchers to tell him how to fight climate change. If he wants to hear from agricultural businesses already on the front lines of combating global warming, the Bay Area might be a good place to start.

A new study out of the University of California at Davis shows a dramatic reduction in cattle methane emissions using red seaweed as a feed supplement. It also significantly reduced the cost of feed. The five-month study found that these reductions were sustained with no change in animal health or in the quality of the beef.

Since taking over management of the family’s California dairy farm, in 1977, Albert Straus has used it as a force for change, becoming the first 100% certified organic, zero-waste, non-GMO creamery in North America, processing milk from about a dozen partner farms.

Our region will someday emerge from the pandemic with a fresh way of thinking about the way we live and the way we use, share and value our resources, especially food. The accelerated change taking place now is a chance for us to reprioritize our values toward a local, sustainable, organic farming and food production system.

For decades, we have enjoyed a productive agricultural landscape and farming model for the rest of the country, amid wild open space at Point Reyes National Seashore.