Just one note in addition to this excellent comment: With hardy breeds of cows, the cows can stay out all winter in a sheltered pasture with hay brought out to them. It's not necessary to have the cows in a barn in the winter; probably good to have a lean-to for shelter from the wind, but there are plenty of breeds that can be pastured cows year-round. At Chase Hill Farm, in Orange, Massachusetts, which mainly produces organic cheese from grass-fed cow milk, (with a small volume of raw milk sold from the farm) the cows are seasonally dried off for three months in the winter and spend the winter on pasture in a hollow surrounded by woods, and these are Jersey/Normandie mix. They get hay grown organically on the same farm (brought out to them by draft horses!) so they are completely grass-fed, and are pastured year-round. --- On Sat, 5/30/09, Joel and Sarah Gagnon <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Joel and Sarah Gagnon <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] fw: Organic Dairies Watch the Good Times Turn Bad To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, May 30, 2009, 10:36 AM Yes. Not because they are grazing, but because to tap the full genetic potential to produce milk, high-energy feeds like grain need to be added to the diet. There is nothing natural about doing that, of course. Cows can and do produce plenty of milk for their offspring while on diets consisting of nothing but forage. Milk is produced in New Zealand without supplemental grain, using grazing only. Here in the US, the feeding of grain has been promoted for decades as a way to increase production and , not incidentally, get rid of otherwise excess grain production. In the cheap energy period of the last century, it made sense to feed relatively inexpensive grain to maximize production (and cows were bred for ever-increasing milk production) since milk is produced after meeting the cow's maintenance requirements and the ratio of milk over maintenance got better and better as production increased. It also made economic sense to confine the cows and bring the feed to them (that reduced the maintenance energy requirement). As a result, we ended up with very large herds in confined feeding situations eating a very unnatural diet. All this will change once energy prices rise again. As the cost of producing grain rises, not to mention the cost of hauling feed to the cows kept in large confinement facilities, grazing-based milk production relying on cows to do what they are "designed" to do -- eat grass -- will become more competitive. Not mentioned in the article is that many of the small organic dairy farmers are being undercut by very large scale confined animal feeding operations feeding organically-produced feed. I think it is a stretch calling such operations organic. The movement would be well served if organic milk were limited to grazing-based production. It is a complicated issue, however, since here in the north all producers have to keep their cows in barns over the winter and haul feed to them. Joel At 12:51 PM 5/29/09 -0400, you wrote: >is that because grazing cows produce less milk? > >-marlo >On May 29, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Joel and Sarah Gagnon wrote: > >>The milk surplus would probably disappear if producers stopped >>feeding grain, something they could easily do in the summer grazing >>period. >> >>Joel >> >>At 09:36 AM 5/29/09 -0400, you wrote: >>>The New York Times >>>May 29, 2009 >>>Organic Dairies Watch the Good Times Turn Bad >>>By KATIE ZEZIMA >>> >>>RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt. -- When Ken Preston went organic on his dairy >>>farm here in 2005, he figured that doing so would guarantee him >>>what had long been elusive: a stable, high price for the milk from >>>his cows. >>> >>>Sure enough, his income soared 20 percent, and he could finally >>>afford a Chevy Silverado pickup to help out. The dairy >>>conglomerate that distributed his milk wanted everything >>>Mr. Preston could supply. Supermarket orders were skyrocketing. >>> >>>But soon the price of organic feed shot up. Then the recession >>>hit, and families looking to save on groceries found organic milk >>>easy to do without. Ultimately the conglomerate, with a glut of >>>product, said it would not renew his contract next month, leaving >>>him with nowhere to sell his milk, a victim of trends that are >>>crippling many organic dairy farmers from coast to coast. >>> >>>For those farmers, the promises of going organic -- a steady >>>paycheck and salvation for small family farms -- have collapsed in >>>the last six months. As the trend toward organic food consumption >>>slows after years of explosive growth, no sector is in direr shape >>>than the $1.3 billion organic milk industry. Farmers nationwide >>>have been told to cut milk production by as much as 20 percent, >>>and many are talking of shutting down. >>> >>>"I probably wouldn't have gone organic if I knew it would end this >>>way," said Mr. Preston, 53. >>> >>>Here in New England, where dairy farms are as much a part of the >>>landscape as whitewashed churches and rocky beaches, organic dairy >>>farmers are bearing the brunt of the nationwide slowdown, in part >>>because of the cost of transporting feed from the Midwest. The >>>contracts of 10 of Maine's 65 organic dairies will not be renewed >>>by HP Hood, one of the region's three large processors. In >>>Vermont, 32 dairy farms have closed since Dec. 1, significantly >>>altering the face of New England's dairy industry. >>> >>>"We expect to lose a lot more farms this year," said Roger Allbee, >>>Vermont's secretary of agriculture. >>> >>>Hood and the two other big processors, Horizon Organic and Organic >>>Valley, say cutting contracts, pay and production are necessary to >>>absorb overproduction and offset softening demand. Organic Valley, >>>a nationwide cooperative, told Maine organic dairy farmers last >>>month that its sales growth had dropped to near zero from about 20 >>>percent six months ago. >>> >>>"Our inventory is overstocked," said John B. Cleary, the >>>cooperative's New England regional pool coordinator. >>> >>>For many farmers, the changes coincide with crushing debt >>>resulting from the cost of turning organic, which can run hundreds >>>of thousands of dollars. In addition, the price of organic feed >>>has doubled in the last year. Credit has dried up for some, and >>>others say it is nearly impossible to sell cows and so thin their >>>herds. >>> >>>And while processors project growth of about 6 percent in organic >>>milk sales this year (a decline from the 12.7 percent reported for >>>2008 by the Organic Trade Association), some analysts say that >>>forecast is far too optimistic. The United States Department of >>>Agriculture says sales of organic whole milk in February were 2.5 >>>percent lower than in February last year, with sales of organic >>>reduced-fat milk 15 percent lower. >>> >>>"We're in big trouble," said Craig Russell, an organic dairy >>>farmer in Brookfield, Vt., who owes $500,000, mostly from >>>converting his farm to organic in 2006. >>> >>>Mr. Russell quit a day job as an accountant to farm full time last >>>year. "I made more money in six months than in five years of >>>conventional farming," he said, but his farm is now barely hanging >>>on. The price he receives from the distributor dropped another $1 >>>per hundredweight on May 1, just when he most needed money to >>>prepare for the summer grazing season. >>> >>>"It's going to cost me more to make milk than sell milk," he said. >>> >>>In an effort to provide a safety net, Vermont last month expanded >>>a low-interest loan program for farmers. >>> >>>While most conventional farmers are accustomed to withstanding >>>price volatility, "organic hasn't weathered this kind of storm," >>>said Mr. Allbee, the state's agriculture secretary. Farmers are >>>finding that organic food is not for every consumer, he said, "and >>>doesn't guarantee that you will have a market forever." >>> >>>Some farmers are considering selling their organic milk on the >>>conventional market just to make some quick money. Others are >>>looking to sell raw, or unpasteurized, milk directly to the >>>public. The Vermont House of Representatives passed a bill this >>>month to increase the amount of raw milk a farmer can sell that >>>way. >>> >>>At the annual meeting of the Maine Organic Milk Producers last >>>month in Waterville, farmers debated whether they could tap into >>>the locavore movement, marketing their milk as local food. Russell >>>Libby, the organization's executive director, wondered, "Is it >>>possible to produce a product with a Maine label on it?" >>> >>>Right now it is not, because some Maine milk is processed out of >>>state. But farmers like Aaron Bell, whose contract with Hood will >>>not be renewed when it expires, thinks the idea will save their >>>farms. >>> >>>"We're so remote, we're high and dry otherwise," said Mr. Bell, >>>whose farm is in Maine's easternmost reaches. "Unless we find our >>>own market." >>> >>>Back in 2006, Mr. Bell carried the banner for organic dairy >>>farming, appearing with his wife on Martha Stewart's show to >>>promote small family farms. He still believes in organic food, but >>>not so much in the business model. >>> >>>"They say it's heaven for the small farmer," he said, "but the >>>small farmer is the one screaming the loudest right now." >>> >>>Bruce Drinkman, who milks 60 cows on his organic farm in Glenwood >>>City, Wis., has seen his income drop 40 percent since Jan. 1. To >>>keep the farm going, he has dipped into his retirement savings and >>>dropped his health insurance. But without a loan, his wife has had >>>to draw money from her I.R.A. to help out. >>> >>>"Our Plan B is if we don't have a decent year, we're done," said >>>Mr. Drinkman, who has farmed for 30 years. >>> >>>"I'm 46," he said. "I wonder what I will do if I can't farm >>>anymore." >>> >>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County >>>area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ >>> >>>RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >>>[email protected] >>>http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >>>Questions about the list? ask [email protected] >>>free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org >>_______________________________________________ >>For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County >>area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ >> >>RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >>[email protected] >>http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >>Questions about the list? ask [email protected] >>free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > >Marlo Capoccia >Garden Gate >www.gardengatedelivery.com >607 342 6228 > >"You don't ever want a crisis to go to waste; it's an opportunity to >do important things that you would otherwise avoid." Rahm Emanuel > >_______________________________________________ >For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, >please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > >RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: >[email protected] >http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins >Questions about the list? ask [email protected] >free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
