In a special March 7 award ceremony in Washington, D.C., the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announced the winners of the inaugural U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, a program to recognize dairy farms, dairy companies and collaborative partnerships for efforts that advance the sustainability of the dairy industry.

Winners of the Elanco Award for Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability:  Blue Spruce Farm, operated by the Audet family in Bridport, Vt.; Holsum Dairies, LLC, of Hilbert, Wis.; and Werkhoven Dairy, Inc., of Monroe, Wash.

Winner of the U.S. Dairy Export Council Award for Outstanding Dairy Processing & Manufacturing Sustainability:  Darigold, Inc., in Seattle

Honorable mention of the U.S. Dairy Export Council Award for Outstanding Dairy Processing & Manufacturing Sustainability:  Oakhurst Dairy of Portland, Maine

Winners of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies/Idaho National Laboratory Award for Outstanding Achievement in Energy are:  Brubaker Farms of Mount Joy, Pa. and DF-AP, LLC, of Gooding

An independent panel of judges representing the full spectrum of the dairy supply chain — as well as academia, government, media, business and nongovernmental organizations — selected this year’s winners based on the program’s or project’s results as measured by economic, environmental and social responsibility aspects.