Jersey Cattle Milk Production Has Lower Carbon Footprint, Study

A new study has revealed each unit of cheese made from Jersey cattle milk bears 20% less carbon footprint than that of Holsteins.

The life-cycle assessment study said 8.8 billion pounds of Jersey milk is needed to produce 1.1 billion pounds of Cheddar cheese, which is 19% less than the required 10.9 billion pounds of Holstein milk.

The report, by scientists at Washington State University, said total feed consumption decreased by 1.75 million tons with Jerseys and that the breed produced 2.5 million tons less manure compared to Holsteins.

The breed consumed 32% less water, conserving 66.5 billion gallons of water.

The land requirement is also smaller at 240,798 acres, 11% less than that required to support Holsteins.