Aaron and Carly Bell and family

Featured Farm:
Tide Mill Organics, Eastern Maine

Although his father and uncle sold the dairy herd in the 1970’s, eighth generation farmer Aaron Bell of Tide Mill Organics, knew that he wanted to be a dairyman.  It was the stories from family members and the community that inspired Aaron to revive the dairy in the early 2000’s when HP Hood was aggressively seeking raw milk for its entrance into the organic milk sector, having purchased the right to bottle fluid milk under the Stonyfield Farm name.  Situated in the far edge of eastern Maine in Washington County, Tide Mill Organics is a stone’s throw from the Canadian border and the ocean.   The farm is recognized as a National Bicentennial Farm, a rare claim and especially so in this circumstance since not only is the land still in the Bell family but it is still commercially farmed.  In 2000, when Aaron returned to the farm post-college with his wife Carly Delsignore, the farm was 1600 acres- 50 acres of fields, 20-30 acres of marginal but improvable land and the rest wooded. To read more of Sonja Heyck-Merlin article on this family farm, please go to:

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Say No to Setting Up
An Organic Check-Off

Say Yes to permanently exempting all organically certified operations from paying into federal mandatory check-off programs

Tell the USDA: You Support the Organic Exemption from Federal Check-off Programs – Comment by February 17th 2015

The 2014 Farm Bill allows all organic farmers and businesses to pull assessed monies out of conventional check-off programs. In December, the USDA issued proposed rules to set this process up. 

A strong response from organic farmers and businesses will let the USDA know this exemption is important to organic agriculture, and these rules need to be put in place as quickly as possible. The instructions below will guide you on how to submit comments.  Here are talking points:

• These rules give the same opportunity to farms and businesses with split operations (organic and non-organic) as 100% organic operations were granted in the 2002 Farm Bill to request a refund on organic sales assessments.  This change corrects unequal treatment of organic certificate holders set by the 2002 Farm Bill.
• This exemption will provide a level playing field. It allows organically certified farmers and handlers to use check-off monies to benefit their own operations and future, similar to the benefit that non-organic operations receive from being assessed under the Commodity Promotion Law. 
• Organics is less than 5% of agricultural production and requires very specific research and marketing.  Farmers and handlers carry out a high percentage of direct-to-consumer and other marketing, or conduct research on their own farms.
• The exemption process should be as efficient as possible. Information on certified organic operations is now available in real time so certificate holders should only need to apply once for an exemption from the check-off, not every year.  Commodity boards can be informed by the NOP when the operation loses its organic certification.
• Organics should have a blanket exemption from all Research and Promotion programs.
• For Marketing Orders, the organic exemption should be the marketing portion average of all AMS Marketing Orders.

Comments must be postmarked no later than February 17, 2015. They can be electronically submitted at:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;
D=AMS-FV-14-0032-0038

For more information please go to:

checkoff_opposition.shtml

Seeking Farmers for
Farm Succession Project

Is planning for retirement and the future of your farm on your “to do” list? Would you be willing to share your ideas and concerns about your farm transition? If you are a senior operator, the junior generation, or a beginning organic dairy farmer with ideas and concerns about how organic dairies will be passed on please read on.

The farm succession conundrum
Of all the daily challenges that organic dairy farmers grapple with, farm succession is not usually on the list. It’s easier to put off planning for that unsettled future, and to avoid uncomfortable subjects like death and taxes. But we all know that the future of the farm is a concern for most farmers. A new project led by Land For Good (LFG) will give the organic farm transition “conundrum” focused attention and support. LFG is a New England nonprofit organization that specializes in farm access and transfer. Its organic farm succession project will investigate organic dairy farmers’ unique dilemmas and opportunities in transition planning. Supported by grants from Organic Valley’s Farmers Advocating for Organics Fund and the Clif Bar Family Foundation, LFG will hold discussion groups and conduct interviews with organic dairy farmers across New England to develop better strategies to help farmers address farm succession. To read more, click here.

Preventing and Treating Pneumonia

Hue Karreman starts his article with the best common sense, and least expensive, way of preventing pneumonia (and many other respiratory complaints), “Yes! Fresh air and dry bedding make for healthy animals.” This time of year, with very variable weather patterns and stress on housing, the problems with maintaining a healthy herd, especially among young stock, is always an immediate concern for livestock producers. For a comprehensive article on preventing and treating pneumonia, click here.

Dr. Hubert Karreman Presents:
A series of classes on bovine health

On Tues March 10th and Wednesday March 11th, Dr. Hubert Karreman will be teaching his third class on in-depth health care strategies for organic dairy cows at the Rodale Institute. It is a two-day class from 9am-5pm. Participants will be in the classroom in the mornings and in the afternoon will be working hands-on with the cows, right next door at our neighbor's 65 cow certified organic dairy farm. The class is filling up so make your reservations soon. For more details and to sign up, click here.

For more details, please be in touch with Hubert Karreman, VMD, Adjunct Veterinarian at Rodale Institute, 717-405-8137.

Recent Odairy Discussions

The ODairy email list serve hosts robust discussions on many different issues, some practical, some on policy, some on politics and some just exchanging news on the organic community. We heard from Dr. Hue Karreman about the long expected death of Jerry Brunetti, who contributed so much to the growth of organics. On the NODPA website we have many pictures of Jerry at work and at play, especially in the photo-archives of our Field Days. He will be missed. For a reflection on his life, please click here.

ODairy is blessed by having so many committed veterinarians experienced in organic production who take an active part in the discussions on the list serve. There is no one way to solve a health problem in organic production but there was plenty of good advice on how to deal with mastitis. There was also a spirited discussion on methionine role in organic production plus suggestions on how to work with certifiers in making decisions on what can be used in organic livestock production.

Also, Odairy is a great place to advertise animals for sale and organic feed that is available.

To read a summary of Odairy activities, please go to the article by Liz Bawden, Organic Dairy Farmer and NODPA President. You can also join the active and informative email list serve clicking here.

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Added January 15, 2015

Organic Dairy:
Forecasts for 2015 and Beyond

What does Kevin Engelbert, John Bobbe, Andrew Dykstra, Sharad Mathur, Harriet Behar, Mike Davies, Bruce Drinkman, Miles McEvoy and Andre Brito have in common? As part of our January edition of the NODPA News they shared their perspective on the future of organic dairy from their own point of view. We invited these leaders of organic dairy from different backgrounds and occupations in order to have a variety of perspectives to share with you. We had no editorial control and did not edit their submissions. To read their interesting and unique ideas please go to:

in_organic-forecasts-2015-011415.shtml

And, to read  Mary Howell and Klaas Martens’ thoughts on the New York Times’ Food for Tomorrow conference, click here:

in_food-for-tomorrow_01142015.shtml

National Organic Standards Board Update

Jean Richardson, Chair National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) gives an update on what is happening at the Board and the USDA NOP since the last meeting of the Board in Kentucky last November, 2014. Jean continues to share the work of the Board in easy to understand language and gives an insight into what the NOP is doing to strengthen the integrity of the organic seal, plus, did you know that Miles McEvoy goes bird watching in his spare time? To read her complete article, please go to:

in_nosb_update-011415.shtml

Profitability Declines slightly in 2013

That is the headline from Bob Parsons, UVM Extension, from his ongoing study on the profitability of organic dairying in Vermont. This study on the economics of organic dairy involved 34 Vermont dairy farms for the 2013 tax year, found that Return on Assets (ROA) dropped from 1.82% to 1.60%. The study was conducted with the cooperation of the University of Vermont Extension, NOFA-Vermont, Vermont organic dairy farmers, and the generous financial support from Stonyfield Farms, Morrison Custom Feeds, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Green Mountain Feeds, and Yankee Farm Credit. Bob writes, “In conclusion, organic farms are getting by. Organic is not the road to riches for many; however it has been a key vehicle of survival for many of the smaller farms who likely would be out of business if they had not had the option to go organic. Higher milk prices are needed but can the market absorb a higher price without losing consumer demand? So while the coming years likely will not see an immediate loss of organic dairy farms, there should be concern for long run viability and sustainable and healthy supply of organic milk from Vermont farms. Without a higher price, organic dairy farms have only the same options they had available when on the conventional treadmill; add more cows and produce more milk per cow to meet rising expenses.” To read the complete article and view the data collected please go to:

in_vermont_dairy_study_01142015.shtml

Pay Price Update: Pay price moves up slowly as sales increase and shortages continue

It looks like 2015 will be the year when processors start to recognize the realities of organic dairy production and the steady growth of demand in the retail market based on quality and production preference. As competition for the milk supply increases, regional buyers of organic milk are becoming more aggressive, with many different incentives available for those that want to switch processors. While an increasing part of the pay price is still the MAP, which can be taken away at the discretion of the processor, the base price has increased and CROPP has made the calculation of their pay price more understandable. To find out what the processors are paying and for a history of demand and supply please go to:

feed_payprice_update_01142015.shtml

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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.

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