A new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has found that many farming practices associated with organic dairies can help store carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The peer-reviewed study, published in the August issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production, found that several practices that are common on organic dairy farms, including giving cows more time on pasture, can boost carbon sequestration in the soil and reduce overall emissions.

The study included life cycle assessments of organic dairies across the U.S. A life cycle assessment involves analyzing the environmental aspects associated with a product over its life cycle, including inputs and outputs — for instance, what feed goes in and what waste goes out.

This method, said lead researcher Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, can “quantify the environmental impacts of a product, service or system.”

The researchers found the organic dairy farms that were studied — members of Organic Valley, a national dairy cooperative — emitted 0.94 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of fat-and-protein-corrected milk, a measure of carbon footprint.

This is a 24% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the average American dairy, a percentage calculated by comparing the new study to a previous life cycle assessment representing the U.S. dairy industry as a whole, published in the International Dairy Journal. It found that dairies on average emit 1.23 kg of carbon dioxide per kilogram of milk. In reality, it’s not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, said Aguirre-Villegas, because the earlier study was done by different researchers using different methodologies, but the previous research is a “useful point of reference.”

What is clear from the new study, said Aguirre-Villegas, is that certain management techniques on dairy farms do reduce emissions and create a smaller environmental impact.

These practices include giving cows regular access to pasture, using minimal inputs, building healthy forages and pastures with well-developed root systems that store more carbon below ground, using a dry manure management system, using only organic fertilizers and growing most feed on the farm rather than importing it.

These practices are not exclusive to organic dairies.

Nicole Rakobitsch, Organic Valley’s director of sustainability, said the study’s exploration of carbon sequestration could be useful to both organic and conventional dairy farms.

Aguirre-Villegas, the researcher, agreed that the study could prove useful to both conventional and organic dairies. Organic operations tend to already use more of these low-input, low-carbon-footprint practices, he said, but the study’s findings are broadly applicable.

“Any farm can really adopt good practices to reduce their emissions,” he said.

Although Organic Valley’s farms appear to already have a smaller-than-average carbon footprint compared to other dairies, Rakobitsch, of the co-op, said the company aims to continue improving by incentivizing its members to adopt environmentally friendly practices.

In a recent panel discussion, Jon Bansen, a farmer with Organic Valley, said he believes that adopting these practices has both improved his bottom line and helped the environment.

“You can only be environmentally sustainable if you’re financially stable to begin with,” he said.