fabian@dga-national.org

Fabian Bernal is Senior Director of Strategic Modeling & Sustainability Impact for the Dairy Grazing Alliance (DGA), where he leads the scientific, technical, and data architecture required to validate managed grazing as a regenerative, climate-smart dairy production system.

With nearly 20 years of leadership experience across the dairy and broader agricultural sectors, Fabian specializes in translating complex environmental science into practical, farm-ready and market-relevant solutions.

Fabian oversees DGA’s ecosystem modeling strategy, quantifying outcomes such as soil carbon sequestration, water infiltration, and biodiversity benefits using tools including national models, COMET-Farm, Cool Farm Tool, and integrated farm data systems. He is developing Modeling, Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MMRV) frameworks that combine pasture management data, soil testing and digital technologies to produce credible, farm-level sustainability metrics. His work also includes designing validation and ground-truthing protocols and establishing third-party verification pathways to ensure modeled results reflect on-farm reality.

Additionally, Fabian serves as DGA’s primary technical interface with corporate partners, researchers and sustainability leaders. He translates life-cycle assessment (LCA) and greenhouse gas accounting data into clear, decision-relevant insights that support Scope 3 strategies, climate-insetting programs, and ecosystem service markets that directly reward grazing dairy farmers.

Before joining DGA, Fabian held senior sustainability leadership roles at Dairy Management Inc. and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, where he led national initiatives in dairy life-cycle assessment, greenhouse gas modeling, regenerative agriculture strategy, and industry sustainability roadmapping. His work has contributed to the development of science-based tools, measurement frameworks, and implementation strategies used across the U.S. dairy value chain.

Fabian brings to DGA strong critical thinking, analytical, and systems-level problem-solving skills, along with deep knowledge of dairy production systems, market dynamics, agricultural policy frameworks, animal health and welfare, and large-animal nutrition. His work is grounded in a commitment to ensuring that grazing dairy farmers have credible, data-backed pathways to demonstrate climate, soil, biodiversity, and animal care outcomes, and to ensure those outcomes are recognized in both markets and policy.