Texas dairymen know it takes water to make milk and dairies are searching for ways to use less water, similar to other agricultural practices, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
“The dairy industry is pretty conscientious of conservation and best management practices,” said Joe Osterkamp, who runs a dairy a few miles west of Muleshoe.
The 6,000 or so cows at his Bailey County operation obviously need water to drink, but that’s just the beginning. More water goes toward cooling the milk they produce, irrigating the crops they consume and cleaning the facilities where they reside.
Darren Turley, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen, estimates water goes through the cleaning-and-cooling process three or four times before it reaches its final spot on agricultural land.
“Most people would be surprised to the amount of reuse of water that a dairy does before we use it for crops,” he said. “That ability to reuse water has helped make us much more efficient.”