The Dairy Alliance has launched a new campaign, Portraits of Modern Dairy: Southern Stories, which spotlights Oakmulgee Dairy in Virginia and its six generations of family farming. The campaign, running from November 2026 through January 2027, will share the Moyer family's story through video, social media content, and educational graphics, focusing on their use of renewable energy and environmental stewardship.
Oakmulgee Dairy, Virginia's oldest continuously operating family dairy, combines generations of experience with investments in solar power, nutrient stewardship, and technology that transforms farm and food waste into renewable energy. According to Farrah Newberry, CEO of The Dairy Alliance, "For the Moyer family, investing in new technology is part of caring for a farm that has been passed down through several generations." She added that the campaign shows consumers how dairy farmers are turning challenges into opportunities, from transforming waste into renewable energy to helping keep family farming viable for the next generation.
A central part of the story is Oakmulgee Dairy's partnership with Vanguard Renewables. Through anaerobic co-digestion, dairy cow manure and inedible food and beverage waste from local businesses are converted into renewable natural gas. The process captures methane from the organic material for use as energy while diverting food waste from landfills. The project's estimated annual environmental benefits include diverting nearly 115,000 tons of food waste from landfills and greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing more than 14,000 gasoline-powered vehicles from the road. The process also recovers nutrients from the organic materials, recycling them into a natural fertilizer used on farmland to support crop production.
The campaign matters because it offers a concrete example of how dairy farms can address environmental challenges while maintaining productivity and family ownership. By explaining how anaerobic co-digestion works and exploring how distinctive practices support the farm's long-term viability, the campaign aims to bring consumers closer to the farmers behind real dairy. This transparency could help build public trust in dairy farming and demonstrate that modern agricultural practices can align with sustainability goals.
For the dairy industry, Oakmulgee Dairy's approach illustrates a potential model for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste while producing renewable energy. The estimated environmental benefits—diverting 115,000 tons of food waste and achieving emissions reductions equivalent to taking 14,000 cars off the road—highlight the scale of impact that innovative waste management can have. As consumers increasingly demand environmentally responsible food production, such initiatives may become more important for the industry's social license to operate.
To learn more about Portraits of Modern Dairy: Southern Stories and follow the stories of Southeast dairy farm families, visit The Dairy Alliance.
