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By Tamara Scully, NODPA Contributing Writer
Kinley Coulter and family milk purebred Jerseys on their certified organic dairy in Honey Grove, Pennsylvania. They don’t sell their milk to any processors, and the milk doesn’t travel off farm until it is sold to the end consumer. They are the processors for 100 percent of the milk their cows produce, marketing and distributing their products via high-end farmers’ markets on the Washington D.C. beltway in Maryland and northern Virginia. They also sell through their website, fulfilling online orders for pickup at the farm or the farmers’ markets, and also offer shipping options for most of the farm’s product line. Along with the cheeses, yogurt, kefir, butter and pasteurized milk directly from their dairy herd, they also sell their own beef.
Read More...posted to Featured Farms on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
By Christie Badger, Independent Organic Inspector & Consultant
With the publication of the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule on January 18, 2023, the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) published the most significant update to the organic regulations since the publication of the original Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) in 1990. SOE is aimed at protecting organic integrity and bolstering consumer confidence in organic sales in light of an organic landscape that has changed dramatically in the past twenty years. The rule has an implementation date of March 19, 2024.
Read More...posted to Industry News on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
By Tamara Scully, NODPA Contributing Writer
Buckwheat and cereal rye are two crops known for their use as a cover crop. But these crops are suited to other uses, too. Although the benefits of cover cropping are numerous, growers can “add value” to these cover by utilizing them in additional ways.
Read More...posted to Organic Production on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
September 28 & 29, 2023
While the exact location hasn’t been identified but it will be near Allensville/Reedsville in central Pennsylvania. We’ve just started to plan the program but we are excited to announce that Alvin Peachey will be joining us. Alvin Peachey is an Amish organic dairy farmer from central Pennsylvania. Over the course of more than a decade, Alvin has grown his operation to 90 100% grass-fed cows on 92 acres, implementing regenerative practices that flip the script of the status quo for dairy farmers. Alvin will share his experiences and offering a tour of his farm. Lots more information will be on the NODPA website (www.nodpa.com) in the coming weeks, and the May NODPA News issue will be full of details.
posted to Field Days on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
By Dayna Locitzer, DVM
In my last column I wrote briefly about the contagious mastitis causing pathogen Staphylococcus aureus or simply S. aureus. I said that if you wanted to hear more to ask and I would write a whole column… and you did, so here it is! It certainly deserves its own column. It is an insidious bug that can cause milk quality issues and take a long time to recover from if you are not on top of it. S. aureus can cause both clinical and subclinical mastitis.
Read More...posted to Organic Production on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
Dan Leiterman, President and CEO, Crystal Creek **Article reprinted with permission
Not every seemingly good idea spawned with good intentions by dedicated professionals turns out to be an effective, practical solution. The case in point discussed here; What is the proper age for a dairy heifer to freshen at? Research presented at the 4-State Nutrition Conference this year, and reviewed in this article, shows that the industry’s efforts to freshen dairy heifers at 22 months of age vs. 24 months of age is detrimental to the lifetime productivity of the cow and to the farmer’s profitability.
Read More...posted to Organic Production on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
By Liz Bawden, NODPA Board Co-President
Methane reduction was a topic for thought last month. Although the research is still contradictory, there is lots of interest in feeding red seaweed to cows to curb methane production. A few producers weighed in on this, pointing out that although seaweed or kelp can be very beneficial for improved animal health, the red seaweed needed for methane reduction simply isn’t available on any kind of scale available to farmers. And the price would be prohibitive at this point. Another producer suggested that if we focused on cow longevity, farms would not require as many replacements; and fewer young cattle on farms would mean less methane. Another farmer shared an article that shone a light on manure management as a large methane source: “Larger farms are less likely to graze their cattle, instead relying on purchased feed – the single largest source of greenhouse gases from industrialized agriculture. In addition, factory farms store manure in liquid form which encourages the release of methane – unlike field cattle whose manure decomposes with minimal emissions.”
Read More...posted to Recent O-Dairy Discussion on Sat, Mar 11, 2023
NODPA is the largest grass roots organization of organic dairy producers and has remained true to its original goal of advocating on behalf of producers, regardless of who they sell their milk to, for a sustainable pay price, plus protect the integrity of the USDA Organic Regulations.
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