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Last Updated: May 5, 2009 - 12:58:27 PM |
The opinion piece below outlines two factual inaccuracies in the story that we released last week:
Bad News: We had estimated the Natural Prairie dairy, in West Texas, that Organic Valley had been purchasing milk from, to have 5000 lactating cows. In actuality they have two 3600-cow free stall barns (7200 cows), plus 2000 or more dry cows/heifers for a total of 8000-9000 head. This makes the facility the largest "organic" dairy in the United States. Who would've thought that you could make that statement in the same paragraph with the words "Organic Valley."
Bad News: Although we accurately reported that the cooperative CEO told Dairy Executive Committee (DEC) members at their May meeting that Organic Valley would discontinue purchasing from a massive dairy in June, that did not happen.
Good News: There are a lot of Organic Valley farmers who passionately care about their co-op and its reputation in the marketplace. The last chapter in the story has not been written. I hope and expect that there will be more good news to come.
MAK
Organic Valley—A Crisis in Confidence?
When I moved to Wisconsin almost 20 years ago, to help the CROPP Cooperative launch their direct marketing program, I along with many others were motivated because we viewed the enterprise as an economic-justice vehicle for family farmers.
For too long farmers had been price takers, not price makers. We felt we were inventing a new economic model. One where family farmers were in the driver seat. As a consultant, after doing the cooperative’s initial market research, coordinating the development of their cooperative identity (the original Organic Valley name and logo), and other development work, I moved on to help other farmers through political and marketplace consulting.
I can't tell you how disappointed I was when we at The Cornucopia Institute, the nation's leading organic farming watchdog, learned that Organic Valley was buying milk from a 5000-cow, industrial-scale dairy in West Texas. It seemed to be everything the cooperative’s members and customers were seeking an alternative to.
Cornucopia has long been critical of Dean Foods (Horizon) for heavily depending on dairies milking as many as 10,000 cows for their "organic" production—and we filed legal complaints when it appeared that they were gaming the system. Although we have always held Organic Valley in high regard, and the milk they are buying from this dairy represents a small fraction of their production, it was ethically incumbent upon Cornucopia to treat all market players in an evenhanded manner.
Consumers feel buying organic milk is supporting a different kind of environmental and animal husbandry ethic. And they think the higher price has economic justice for family farmers built in.
Nowhere is this more true than at Organic Valley. Their marketing has focused consumers’ attention on where their milk comes from—"family farmers" and their farmer-owners are the ones that benefit from the patronage of their brand.
Organic Valley members are incredibly dedicated to their co-op, one that, at least in the past, has really exemplified democratic control. But, unfortunately, the co-op might be at a turning point.
We are sad to say that we need to update readers of The Country Today, as some of the Cornucopia-supplied facts in last week's news story have been replaced with new, up-to-date information.
When we first learned about the Texas dairy, Natural Prairie, near Dalhart, according to a University of Illinois research study, they were milking 3500–4000 cows. More recently industry sources suggested they had expanded to 5000 cows. It's not surprising that the scale of this operation, and what it represents, was highly repugnant to many Organic Valley members, whose farms average 65–70 cows.
After an extensive interview last week with the designer and contractor who built this dairy, we learned that they are actually milking 7200 cows! With additional young stock, this outfit is managing a total of 8000–9000 animals in near-desert conditions.
Once The Cornucopia Institute made the original information public, farmers at Organic Valley, through their elected representatives on the Dairy Executive Committee (DEC), expressed grave concern.
We reported that the cooperative's CEO assured DEC members, in May, that the co-op would discontinue buying milk from Natural Prairie. As recently as June 9, at an Organic Valley producer meeting in Wisconsin, co-op staff told farmers that they have already quit their purchases. Unfortunately, we've now learned that that has not happened.
According to a copyrighted story in Madison's Capital Times, the cooperative’s CEO, George Siemon, is now saying, “Organic Valley would continue the relationship in order to ensure a supplier in Texas.”
“Sometimes you have to make compromises; that’s just the nature of business,” Siemon said.
We appreciate that managing a $500 million business enterprise is challenging, especially when you need to balance profit-making activities with acting as a farmer advocate. But in a democracy, like a farmer-owned cooperative, stakeholders can make good informed decisions only if they have accurate information.
When the board of directors at Organic Valley made the decision to buy milk from the giant dairy last year, they were told that it was "temporary," and they were also told that there was adequate pasture available for the 1200 milk cows.
Organic Valley management should have monitored this dairy with the same diligence that they monitor farmer-members, assuring the federal organics law and higher standards that the cooperative itself has set are met. That appears not to have been done in this case.
The most valuable asset owned by Organic Valley members is the stellar reputation of their brand. Members who are concerned that buying milk from 7000-cow dairies is betraying consumer trust, and placing the co-op's marketplace reputation at risk, should contact members of their board of directors and elected representatives on the DEC.
Organic Valley has been a great example both in Wisconsin and nationally of a cooperatively structured business that truly works. Keeping true to its mission is worth fighting for.
Mark Kastel is Codirector and Senior Farm Policy Analyst at The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy research group, based in Cornucopia, Wisconsin. www.cornucopia.org.
Mark A. Kastel
The Cornucopia Institute
kastel@cornucopia.org
608-625-2042 Voice
866-861-2214 Fax
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