What’s the Deal with Organic Milk?

By Andrea Ramlogan

The organic sector has been a shining light in the agriculture sector for a number of years. With a North American market estimated at approximately $20 billion, the organic sector has been growing between 20-30% per year for the last decade, and the future projections look equally promising.

Increasing consumer demand is driving a steady growth in the organic market, with dairy the fastest growing products in organic food sales. The strong growth in the organic dairy market has fueled a sustained interest in organic dairy production, including the transition to organic of numerous conventional systems each year. Demand is expected to grow, as consumers maintain a strong interest in organic products for health and environmental reasons. New certified organic dairy farms around Canada are needed to supply these growing markets.

Most of the organic milk produced in Canada is marketed through a few companies, including Organic Meadow (a farmers´ cooperative headquartered in Guelph, ON), Valley Pride (owned by Avalon Dairy of British Columbia). Other organic dairy products, including cheese, butter and ice cream can also be seen on many grocery shelves. Some producers process organic products on-farm and market directly to consumers.

Some Differences in Organic Production
To certify a dairy farm as organic, the land must be farmed without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides for three consecutive years. The organic farmer must implement management practices and physical barriers to prevent commingling of organic and non-organic products and to prevent contact of handling operations and products with prohibited substances. Physical buffers (a minimum of 25 feet) are needed wherever fields and pastures adjoin areas where prohibited substances are applied. If equipment to be used on the organic land is also used on conventional crops, the equipment must be cleaned prior to use on organic crops. Storage areas must also be thoroughly cleaned.

Cattle must be fed an organic ration for 12 months, and the use of antibiotics and synthetic hormones is prohibited. Animals older than 6 months must have access to pasture in season, and outdoor access throughout the year, weather permitting.

Accurate record keeping is also crucial to a successful organic farm. Functional recording methods must be established and maintained to retain organic certification. The stamp of a certification body is the assurance for consumers that a product has been inspected and verified by an independent third party and is in compliance with organic standards.

The Motivation
In the early years of organics, many farmers carried very strong ethics with them into the barnyard as a motivation for organic production. Resistance to chemical use, a desire to see improved herd health and interest in fulfilling a growing consumer demand fueled organic transitions. With improved market access and stable premiums, organic production has become desirable to a larger population whose primary impetus may be to achieve higher profitability, often while maintaining a moderate herd size. Many farmers have found that a transition to organic dairy production has allowed them to keep the family farm profitable. Strong milk premiums and expanding markets mean more income into the farm, especially when combined with lower input costs associated with organic farming practices.

Organic dairy farming is based on a foundation of soil management, quality crop and forage production, and effective animal husbandry. Many agree that becoming a successful organic farmer means that you need to start thinking about your farm in a new way. Solutions to problems are planned with an emphasis on prevention, and in fact, one of the most important changes for a conventional farmer is a new way of looking at problem solving. Because most synthetic products are no longer options, the organic dairy farmer must use alternative strategies to respond to the same types of problems the farmer experienced as a conventional farmer.

Pieter Biemond, the chair of Organic Meadow, and a long-time organic dairy farmer has said: “The hardest part of transition happens between a farmer´s ears.’ This mindset shift, and the move towards a whole systems approach to agriculture is truly the key to successful organic production.