![]() “These are familiar brands sold in supermarkets around the country,” he says, “and they have been consistently failing to meet the organic standards.” dairies now manage herds of 10,000 to 15,000 cows, explains Mark McAfee, owner and operator of Organic Pastures dairy farm in Fresno, California, and a member of the Organic Farmers Association Policy Committee. To supply the rapidly expanding marketplace for organic milk, a few operations have been scaling up. But the fast growth of the organic milk market is now threatening the integrity of the “USDA organic” seal, the public’s trust in it, and the future of organic dairy farms that meet the standards consumers expect. ![]() Consumers are paying a significant premium for organic milk (double the cost of conventional milk in many markets) based in large part on the perception that it comes from family-run farms like Radiance. We haven’t had a vet on the farm in three years.”įrom its on-farm processing facilities, Radiance produces milk (whole, 2 percent, and skim), whipping cream, yogurt, and cheese. All of the items are sold within a 5-mile radius of the farm through three grocery stores and about 20 restaurants in Fairfield.ĭemand for certified organic dairy products is soaring everywhere: In the United States, organic milk sales reached $1.4 billion in 2016. “They’re in their natural environment, eating their natural diet. “They get a small amount of grain but eat mostly grass,” he says. He doesn’t push the milk production and continues to rotate the animals through paddocks by moving their hay and baleage. The whole herd is out year-round-through most of the winter, even when temperatures can hit 0☏ in southern Iowa. Thicke and his wife, Susan Noll Thicke, own Radiance Dairy in Fairfield, Iowa, where they milk 90 Jerseys. ![]() Around that age, he acknowledges with a chuckle, “they start turning into juvenile delinquents. He has also determined that weaning them after three to four months is the best practice. Iowa dairy farmer Francis Thicke believes that keeping calves with their mothers is the most humane and healthy way to start them off. ![]() Organic Farmers Association members are working to protect the health of their dairy cows and the integrity of the organic label. ![]()
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