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NODPA’s Mission:

To enable organic dairy family farmers, situated across an extensive area, to have informed discussion about matters critical to the well being of the organic dairy industry as a whole.

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NODPA NEWS & NOTES

Payprice Summary Chart: 2006 to 2013

Download a copy of our summary chart comparing payprice for Organic Valley and Horizon over time.

Organic Milk, Pay,
Retail and Feed Prices September 2017

Added September 18, 2017.

As pay price tumbles, losing between $3-10 per hundred pounds compared to 2016, fluid milk sales continue to grow as does the world-wide demand for organic milk powder. Organic exports are up this year on last, from $4 million to $16 million. Demand for organic fluid milk shows no signs of slowing down.

Pay Price September

Check Out All The Businesses Supporting NODPA's Work

Over 20 businesses have signed up for our business membership directory, helping support our newsletter, web site, advocacy work, and more. Check them out.

5 Ways You
Can Support NODPA

Ten years ago NODPA was formed in response to a threat of a drop in milk price. In 2014 NODPA is the only organization whose mission is to represent the interest of organic dairy producers no matter who they sell their milk to.

Click here for a summary of the many ways you can support NODPA and the farmers it represents.

Recent Classifieds

For full classifieds, click here.

Want to submit your own farmer classified? Click here >

Animals

Organic dairy cows: holsteins, jerseys, and crosses. need to reduce herd size. You pick out of 120 head.  Asking $2000. Added September 1, 2017.
Name: doug murphy
Email: dsm1@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 216-401-1052
Location: Sherman NY

2 very nice well grown Holstein march calves. Also 2 really nice Jersey/Holstein cross March & April calves. All cert. Nofa-NY.  Some Purebred Jersey Calves also available.
Call 315-324-6904. Added August 29, 2017.
Name: Ila Terry
Email: terviewfarm@gmail.com
Phone: 315 324 6904
Location: Hammond, NY

For Sale: Organic dairy herd. 44 Friesian, Jersey and crosses. Good grazers, low grain. Almost all less than 6 yr old. $2,000/ea. $2,500/ea for 9 Friesian heifers freshened March 2017. 10 short bred heifers. Jersey, Friesian, Normande crosses. $1,500/ea. 22 weaned heifer calves. 3-10 months old. $350-800. Union, WV. Mike 304-994-0808.
Added August 29, 2017.
Name: Mike McMunigal
Email: mike_mcmunigal@hotmail.com
Phone: (304) 994-0808
Location: Union, WV

Holstein grain and orchard grass fed 3 years old; very friendly, thinks he's a 1000 lb dog. Will take 1500.00 or best offer. Added August 18, 2017.
Name: Ervin Wible, Double 0 Farms
Email: Ewibleiii@gmail.com
Phone: 540-455-0620
Animals: Animals
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

For sale: 8 NOFA NY  certified AI sired bred Holstein heifers due
September-November $2000.00 each Tom Perrin South Wales NY 
716-913-1864
Added August 8, 2017.

Forage and Grains

3x4x7 large square bales rye straw. $165.00/ton 
Md. Dept of Ag certified organic
Added September 3, 2017.
Charles Brault
Bought The Farm, LLC
13631 Graceham Road
Thurmont, MD 21788-2257
chaz@brault.com
301-351-9186(c)
www.boughtthefarm.com

For sale: Organic Hay and Straw (Added August 14, 2017)

Organic Hay and Straw; Baleage and Dry hay, clover and mixed grass/clover,   1st, 2nd, 3RD Cuttings, priced per test results from $140/ton.   Nice fine wheat and rye straw, wrapped for outdoor storage, $150-220/ton.  Cleaned Organic Rye, $ 535/ton in supersacks.  Organic Red clover, $2.50/# bulk.  Hauling available.  Provident Farms, North-central PA  570-324-2285 or 570-772-6095.

For sale: NOFA-NY certified organic 1st cut 4x5 round dry bales grass hay late cut never rained on, net wrapped $35. Will load, large quantity, lots of room to load.
Added August 7, 2017.
Name: Tammy Thomas
Email: disneytam89@gmail.com
Phone: 518-727-1712
Location: Greenwich, NY

Employment

100 cow organic grazing dairy in western NY has a good flexible opportunity for employment or share milker or ?? Added September 1, 2017.
Name: Doug Murphy
Email: dsm1@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 216-401-1052
Location: Sherman NY

Full-time help wanted on a 130 cow, 100% grass-fed, certified organic dairy located in Central New York. Looking for a hard working, self-motivated person who is looking to learn all aspects of running a 100% grass-fed dairy. Previous experience with cattle a plus but not necessary, and person should be dedicated to low-stress animal handling. Duties include all aspects of animals care, milking, feeding, pasture management and fence work associated with an intensive rotational grazing operation. Job requires tractor and skidsteer operation, but will train if necessary. Housing not included at this time, but competitive salary for the right person. Added August 22, 2017.

Tafel Dairy Farm
Laurens, NY
Adam and Margaret Tafel
Call or text (607) 434-6440
Email resume to tafelam@gmail.com

Sharemilker wanted for well-established 60 cow seasonal, no-grain organic dairy in central NY/PA. Looking for experienced person to run our dairy starting in Spring 2018. Rob Moore cowpoke2@verizon.net  607-699-7968.
Added August 15, 2017.
Name: Rob Moore
Email: cowpoke2@verizon.net
Phone: 6076997968
Location: Nichols, NY

For additional information on the events below, click here.

September 22-24, 2017
COMMON GROUND COUNTRY FAIR
MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center, Unity, ME

September 27 to 29, 2017
The 2017 Grassfed Exchange
The Desmond Hotel, Albany, NY

September 28-29, 2017-SAVE THE DATE
NODPA Field Days
Truxton Community Center, Truxton, NY

September 29 - October 1, 2017
Draft Animal-Power Field Days (3-Day Event)
Cornish Fairgrounds, Cornish, NH, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

October 13, 2017, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Grass Based Dairy Management
Autumn Valley Farm, 1644 County Highway 39, Worcester, NY 12197

SAVE THE DATE:
November 3, 2017
NY Women in Agriculture Conference, all day
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Syracuse, New York 298, East Syracuse, NY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Casey Farm 1957: Photo by Aerial Surveys

Casey Farms, Apulia Station, New York: Bill and Joanne Casey

Organic dairy farmer Bill Casey was born onto his 282 acre central New York Farm in the town of Apulia Station in 1950. Each organic farm is its own unique organism, whether viewed from the macro or micro perspective but there are many similarities. To read more about the life journey of Bill and farm production practices of Bill and his wife Joanne, please go to:

ff_july_2017.shtml

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Added September 18, 2017

NODPA Field Days Farm Tour:
Twin Oaks Dairy, Truxton, NY

Embracing Change in Organic Dairy:
The 17th Annual NODPA Field Days, September 28 & 29, 2017, Truxton Community Center, Truxton, NY

The 17th NODPA Field Days is just around the corner and you won’t want to miss this year’s meeting. There will be two farm tours and an educational program packed with internationally renowned speakers who will focus on strategies to help organic dairy farmers be as resilient as possible in the face of unpredictable weather conditions, challenges brought on by advances in technology, and, perhaps most significantly, the current over-supply of organic milk and low pay price.

With pay price at 2010 levels and an oversupply that will take at least 18 months to absorb, organic dairy farm families need to work together to contribute solutions to avoid a potential death knell for a sustainable price for small to mid-size operations. Come to Field Day and share your problems and build on PRACTICAL and OBTAINABLE solutions. Join other producers at the producer-only meeting at 7:00 am on Friday 9/29/2017 to complain first, then to look at ways to protect our market and strengthen our leverage in pay price negotiations. The 17th Annual NODPA Field Days educational program will focus on those strategies that increase organic dairy farm families’ resilience in these challenging times. The first farm tour is to Bill and Joanne Casey’s Casey Farms, Apulia Station, NY on Thursday morning, and Kathie and Kirk Arnold’s Twin Oaks Dairy on Friday afternoon. To read all the details of this year’s Field Days, please go to:

Field Days Overview

Organics under Attack

The integrity of the USDA Organic program is currently in a precarious position. It is under attack from Congress, the NOP, and from organic advocates. The organic dairy pay price, and subsequently family farm income, is collapsing under the strain of a surplus brought on by poor supply management by milk buyers, poor implementation of existing regulation by the NOP and certifiers, and the failure of the NOP to pass regulations to uphold the integrity of the organic standards. The unique process of organic certification that has held consumer confidence and allowed organic products to stand out in the marketplace is also under attack and the results could well be more long-term and devastating than a drop in pay price.

The threats come from three distinct areas: the 2018 Farm Bill; from the bureaucratic inertia at the NOP; and by single-issue organic advocates who are looking to bypass the established process and change regulations through Congressional action. This article will explore how and why these areas of threat are so important because the defense of organic integrity and the changes to Federal regulations happen in many different ways and we all need to understand how an action in one area will affect a possible solution in another. To read the full article please go to:

Organics Under Attack

MYCOTOXIN ALERT 2017!

By Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain

Mycotoxins are toxic chemicals produced by certain types of fungi that grow on plant material, both in the field or in storage. Mycotoxins are a common problem worldwide, indeed, it is estimated that globally, over 25% of field crops are affected annually with mycotoxins. In Europe, Napoleon’s defeat in Russia may not have been due as much to cold or military skill, but rather to mycotoxin-contaminated grain fed to horses and men.

At a recent meeting with other feed mill operators and regulators, mycotoxins are definitely on everyone’s mind, as a feed and food hazard that is increasing with changing weather patterns and especially with the amount of distillers’ grain from ethanol production that is fed on conventional dairies.  Mycotoxin levels can be significantly concentrated and increased in distillers’ grain.  Conventional dairy farmers are also concerned about all the corn for silage that was planted late and ‘mudded in’. To read the whole article please go to:

Mycotoxin Alert 2017

What is the Right Herd Size for Your Farm?

By Sarah Flack

What is the right number of cows for the farm?  And how would that change if the herd was 100% grass-fed with a milking parlor?  What if instead of going grass-fed, the herd continues to get some grain, and robots milked the cows?  What about just investing in a better grazing system and soil amendments to produce more high-quality pasture and forage on the current land base?  Is it better to buy the haying equipment or continue to have harvesting done by custom operators and buy some bales when needed? To find out some of the answers please go to:

Right Herd Size

An Interview with Neal Kinsey

By Sonja Heyck-Merlin

Neal Kinsey, internationally known expert on soil fertility management and the owner of Kinsey Agricultural Services, will be presenting at the 17th Annual NODPA Field Days on September 28 & 29, 2017 in Truxton, NY, and ahead of the NODPA Field Days, we wanted everyone to learn more about Neal via the following interview, which is based on questions submitted by a number of organic dairy farmers.

Please introduce yourself:
I was born on a farm in southeast Missouri in the same county where I currently live. I am the eldest of 12 children, and I spent my childhood with my grandfather while my father served in the military. Once my father came home he also started farming. I am married with two daughters. My business, Kinsey Agricultural Services, was launched as a part-time enterprise in 1973. By 1976, I had grown my business enough to pursue it full-time. What we do at Kinsey Ag. is advise in terms of soil fertility. We sell advice, not products.

To read the full interview please go to:

Neal Kinsey Interview

Pay and Feed
Price Update September 2017

As pay price tumbles, losing between $3-10 per hundred pounds compared to 2016, fluid milk sales continue to grow as does the world-wide demand for organic milk powder. Organic exports are up this year on last, from $4 million to $16 million. Demand for organic fluid milk shows no signs of slowing down. The USDA AMS national data reports total organic milk products’ sales for June 2017 were 208 million pounds, down 1.7% from the previous June 2016. Overall, the January-June 2017 sales are up 0.8% over the previous January-June 2016. Total organic whole milk products’ sales for June 2017 were up 4% over June 2016. This resulted in 7.7% increase in sales of organic whole milk for the first half of 2017, over sales in the same period of 2016.

Organic Valley and Maple Hill Creamery, both of which have reduced pay price and stopped taking on transitioning producers, are launching a new Grass-Fed label, apparently after scrapping the work with the American Grassfed Association. The announcement was made in Washington DC and at Expo East in Maryland.  NOFA-NY and PCO are part of the collaboration since they both currently offer a proven and successful Organic Grass-Fed Certification Program.  This fall, more information will be released regarding the certification program and certifying-body accreditation allowing all accredited organic certifiers the opportunity to certify producers to this program. OV had a grassmilk call recently where ALL grassmilk producers were told that they will be required to certify to the “new” Grassfed organic standards, with the obligatory annual third party inspections by January 2018. There are many questions left unanswered and only a few months to complete the standards and ensure accountability. The cynical reader may see this as a way to decrease the Grassfed pool of milk which is currently losing money. For more on the Feed and Pay price please go to:

Pay Price September

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Added August 28, 2017

Support the Beyond Pesticides Action Alert: Insist that the organic label be regulated on the basis of law, not whim!

Consumers of organic food expect a clear set of production standards that are enforced with a rigorous system of inspection and certification. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) is currently undermining this central organic principle. During a National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) webinar, NOP Deputy Administrator Miles McEvoy extolled the new “flexibility” of his program in allowing organic certification of operations not permitted by regulations. Although the webinar focused on the program’s allowance of hydroponics, Mr. McEvoy’s comments apply to a wide variety of permitted practices for which USDA has yet to approve standards.

Tell the NOSB, NOP, Secretary of Agriculture, and your Congressional delegation that organic certification must be based on law, not the arbitrary judgment of the Deputy Administrator.

Please go to: http://action.beyondpesticides.org/p/dia/action4/
common/public/?action_KEY=25244