Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance

FEATURED FARM: University Organic Dairy Farm: Beyond the Research University of Minnesota’s West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC)

By Tamara Scully, NODPA News contributing writer

The inner workings of an organic dairy research farm may not be quite as mysterious or glamourous as one may have presumed. After all, that cutting-edge research - whose findings are presented at numerous dairy conferences - can sometimes feel far removed from the actual day-to-day realities of operating a dairy farm.

posted to Featured Farms on Sun, Jan 23, 2022

Update on the Organic Dairy Crises in the Northeast

By Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director

The loss of contracts for 135 organic dairies in New York and New England is a continuing crisis. The Northeast Dairy Task Force has reported out their 35 recommendations; Danone has replied to the petition request from 16,000 consumers and organic groups representing producers; the B Corp has supplied an non-answer to the complaint (a separate petition) by over 8,000 consumers and many organizations that they should enforce their standards; testimony has been presented to Congress on the corporate monopsony that controls supply and pay price in organic dairy (see Testimony article, below) and Gary Hirschberg has launched a partnership with consumers to support organic dairies with their food dollars (see NOFFP article, below). We have more information on what farms are affected and a timeline for decisions from CROPP Cooperative on when farms might know whether they are being taken on board (see Contract Dump article, below). Unfortunately we are still at the information stage despite all this activity which doesn’t lessen the stress for the affected farm families. There are no silver bullets but plenty of opportunities in the mix that we will continue to explore, and will keep putting pressure on.

posted to Danone & Maple Hill Terminate 135 Dairy Contracts on Sun, Jan 23, 2022

The Danone/Horizon and Maple Hill Contract Dump: The Facts

By Ed Maltby, Executive Director, NODPA

From the beginning of the contract terminations (since July 2021) by these two companies, there has been a shortage of accurate information about the number of farms, their locations, and the volume of milk involved. For Maine and Vermont this was public information. In New York, due to state legal limitations, it was not, despite the fact that New York was the hardest hit in dropped contracts. The charts below give as much information as possible. The volumes of milk are estimates.

posted to Danone & Maple Hill Terminate 135 Dairy Contracts on Sun, Jan 23, 2022

Testimony to the House Anti-Trust Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee

The House Anti-Trust Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee discussed “Addressing the Effects of Economic Concentration on America’s Food Supply” on January 19, 2022. The committee shall have “jurisdiction over the following subject matters: bankruptcy and commercial law, bankruptcy judgeships, administrative law, independent counsel, state taxation affecting interstate commerce, interstate compacts, antitrust matters, other appropriate matters as referred by the Chairman, and relevant oversight.” The testimony below was submitted by northeast regional organic producer groups, the National Organic Coalition and Organic Farmers Association. The situation in the northeast is of most immediate concern but the impact of consolidation of the organic dairy market gives disproportionate power to international companies to dominate both the national supply side and the retail market. Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director

posted to Danone & Maple Hill Terminate 135 Dairy Contracts on Sun, Jan 23, 2022

Stonyfield Co-founder Announces New Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership to save Organic Family Farms in the Northeast

By Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director

The mission of NOFFP is to bring together key stakeholders (consumers, retailers, food service institutions, farmers, processors, government leaders and concerned activists) to take concrete actions to create more demand and market security to support and safeguard the region’s organic family farmers. In 2022, NOFFP hope to successfully increase regional demand enough to help the 135 at-risk organic family farms that have been dumped by Horizon and Maple Hill to secure new contracts.

posted to Danone & Maple Hill Terminate 135 Dairy Contracts on Sun, Jan 23, 2022

Mower with a Mind of its Own: A Partnership between University of Minnesota Researchers and a Minnesota Company aims to Make Farming More Sustainable

By Gayla Marty, Minneapolis-based freelance writer and Joel Haskard, University of Minnesota

About 250 crossbred Holsteins graze on grasses and cover crops at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) near Morris, Minnesota. The herd is part of the center’s ongoing research on dairy production. But the cows don’t eat everything, and the weeds left behind will spread unless cut. That’s when the cowbot goes to work. The little 25-horsepower tractor-like machine works something like a combination of a robotic vacuum cleaner and a lawn mower. Weighing in at nearly a ton, it has four-wheel drive and can “think” and navigate on its own. When power runs low, it returns to its charging station, a trailer with solar panels.

posted to Organic Production on Sun, Jan 23, 2022

Future of Organic – National Organic Farmer Workshop: Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM EST

It has been 30 years since the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) was signed into law and while the organic sector has made many advances, there is still much to be done to ensure the continued success of the organic movement and truly achieve the gold standard in food systems. The Organic Trade Association (OTA), the Organic Farmers Association (OFA), and the Swette?Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University (ASU), led by Dr. Kathleen Merrigan, are embarking on a partnership to bring together organic farmers nationwide invested in the continued success and growth of organic.?

posted to Industry News on Sun, Jan 23, 2022