Turkey Hill Dairy’s milk products are known around the world. Now, the Lancaster-based company is taking an unprecedented step to make sure its milk and ice cream aren’t made at the expense of the environment.
As part of new contracts with its dairy producers, about 100 farmers located within 50 miles of the plant will be required, for the first time, to have conservation plans in place to make sure they are not sending soil and manure into local streams and the Chesapeake Bay.
The Turkey Hill Clean Water Partnership is just one of four new initiatives in which national corporations are reaching out to Lancaster County farmers as part of Pennsylvania’s struggling efforts to drastically reduce pollutants hindering the decades-long cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay.
A $500,000 startup grant for the Turkey Hill project will help farmers prepare the plans. Additional grants are likely to help farmers pay for needed on-the-farm practices.
The Turkey Hill Clean Water Partnership is a joint venture between Turkey Hill, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers cooperative. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided funding.