This year, California’s dairy families are reducing their water use by 25%. California’s dairy families are rising to the challenge to help California through the driest period our state has ever seen. California dairy farmers recycle the water they use.

There was an approximate 40 percent reduction in on-farm water use in 2014 compared to 1964. Improvements in milk equipment such as vacuum pumps and plate coolers were responsible for a large portion of the on-farm water use savings.

In addition, by implementing water saving crop rotation techniques, dairy farmers are providing critical wildlife habitat to species that depend on these croplands – including the tricolored blackbird – an endangered species now afforded sustainable habitat through these new techniques.