Overview

Until the recent recession, dairy was one of the fastest growing segments of the organic foods industry. According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), sales of organic milk totaled over $1.3 billion in 2007. In 2008, organic milk sales dropped to $750.2 million (2008 Organic Production Survey 2010). The USDA (2010) says the organic dairy market dropped from a 25-percent growth rate down to no growth. The USDA now estimates that the organic dairy market is, at minimum, minus 5 percent below last year. 

Before the recession, organic milk cost considerably more than standard milk. At its peak, the national price premium for organic milk averaged $18.00 more per 100 pounds. In the past, consumer demand also grew at an annual rate approaching 20 percent.  January 2011 ... Organic Dairy

Marketing

• Dairy, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA.
• Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk, Mark Kastel, Cornucopia Institute, 2006.
• Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance - A resource for organic dairy farmers, organic milk producers and consumers interested in organic dairy farming and products. Includes free classifieds for farmers.
• Organic Dairies Watch the Good Times Turn Bad, New York Times, May 28, 2009.
• Organic Dairying: Can It Work For You?, University of Maine, 2008 - Outlines the points to consider when evaluating a transition to organic dairy production.
• Organic Dairy Market Hurt by Low Prices, Rural Cooperatives magazine, USDA, 2010 - CROPP Cooperative, producers of Organic Valley products, formed the first organic dairy pool in the United States. When the recession hit, the organic dairy market dropped from a 25-percent growth rate down to no growth. In response, the cooperative implemented a mandatory supply reduction of 7 percent from the average of the last 3 years of milk production.
• Organic Dairy Sector Evolves To Meet Changing Demand, Amber Waves, ERS, USDA, 2010 - Despite being more costly to produce, organic milk production more than tripled in 5 years, but more recently, growth has slowed in the wake of the weaker U.S. economy.
• Organic Industry Survey, Organic Trade Association, 2010.
• Retail and Consumer Aspects of the Organic Milk Market, ERS, USDA, 2007 - Consumer interest in organic milk has skyrocketed, resulting in rapid growth in retail sales of organic milk. Most organic milk is sold in supermarkets, and organic price premiums are large and vary by region.
• Shades of Green: Quantifying the Benefits of Organic Dairy Production, The Organic Center, 2009 - A calculator has been developed to help consumers, dairy farmers and food companies estimate the environmental, public health and animal welfare impacts avoided when dairy cows are shifted from conventional to organic management.
• The USDA Organic Seal: What is it Worth to the Consumer?, ARE update, University of California, 2007 - The appearance of the USDA organic seal on milk containers has an important effect on consumer milk purchasing choices. On average, consumers are willing to pay an extra 63 cents per gallon for organic milk with the organic seal.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Organic Milk Processing Feasibility Study, "A Catalyst for Thought," Kansas Department of Commerce, 2003 -  Included in this study are an overview of the dairy industry in Kansas, the current trends and the process of organic milk processing. Further, fundamental issues of Federal Milk Marketing Orders, seasonality of production and demand are also addressed.
• Technology Adoption and Technical Efficiency: Organic and Conventional Dairy Farms in the United
  States, Carlos D. Mayen, New Mexico State University, 2011.
• When Your Processor Requires More than Organic Certification: Additional Requirements in Organic Milk Contracts, Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG), 2008 - This guide reviews contracts for the sale of organic milk that were used in 2007. All of these contracts included farm practice requirements that went beyond those required for organic certification.

Production

• Characteristics, Costs, and Issues for Organic Dairy Farming, ERS, USDA, 2009 - Using 2005 data for U.S. dairy operations, including a targeted sample of organic milk producers, this study examines the structure, costs and challenges of organic milk production.
• A Comparison of Conventional and Organic Milk Production Systems in the United States, ERS, USDA, 2007 - USDA's 2005 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) included a sub-sample of organic dairies and collected detailed information about the production practices and costs on dairy farms in 24 states representing over 90 percent of national milk production.
• Dairy Resource List: Organic and Pasture-Based, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), NCAT, 2006 - This resource list offers many sources of information helpful to organic and pasture-based dairy farmers.
• Health-Care Principles & Practices for Organic Dairy Farms, University of Maine, 2008.
• Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2009 Status Report, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, 2010 - Wisconsin is the top-ranked state for number of organic dairy farms. In 2007, Wisconsin’s organic dairy sales reached $57.6 million.
• Organic Ag in Wisconsin--2007 Status Report, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008 - This report focuses on organic dairy production in Wisconsin.
• Organic Dairy for the Next Generation. Heather Darby, University of Vermont, 2011.
• Organic Dairy Handbook, Northeast Oganic Farming Association (NOFA)-New York (NY), 2009 - This book outlines the practical knowledge and systematic understanding necessary for conventional farmers to make a successful transition to organic production, for new farmers to develop a successful organic dairy business and for newlytransitioned organic dairy farmers to strengthen their overall farm management.
• Organic Dairy Production, eXtension.
• Organic Livestock Feed Suppliers, ATTRA, NCAT - This is a listing of certified organic livestock feed suppliers. Contact information is provided for each company along with a brief description of rations and specialty items. Other helpful organic resources are listed at attra.ncat.org.
• Organic Milk Production Costs and Returns in 2005, ERS, USDA, 2007 - USDA's 2005 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) included a sub-sample of organic dairies and collected detailed information about the production practices and costs on dairy farms in 24 states representing over 90 percent of national milk production. For more information, see the report "A Comparison of Conventional and Organic Milk Production Systems in the United States."

Businesses/Case Studies

• Acorn Dairy, Soil Association, United Kingdom, 2007 - This case study provides a perspective on organic milk production in another country.
• Case studies of several dairy farmers in the northwestern United States, who are raising organic milk, are linked here. Some of the producers are processing the milk on their farms and marketing through retail channels, while others are selling directly to the consumer.
• Clover Stornetta Farms, Petaluma, California - This farm provides dairy products to the north and bay areas of California. Most of the organic milk is produced from St. Anthony's Farm, with a milking herd of about 230 cows on 300 acres. The milk is certified by Quality Certification Services (QCS), a USDA-accredited certifier.
• The end of farming for me, for now, The New Farm, 2007 - This beginning farmer started up an organic dairy but is now out of business. His article focuses on pitfalls and mistakes that he feels he made. 
• Farmer's All Natural Creamery, Wellman, Iowa - This creamery began with the idea of taking hard-to-market milk from local farmers with special circumstances, processing it and meeting the needs of a growing consumer demand for natural and organic products.
• Horizon Organic - This Colorado-based dairy, which owns a farm in Idaho and Maryland, offers a full line of certified organic milk, dairy egg and juice products. It also purchases organic milk from farm cooperatives across the United States.
• MOM's, Gibbon, Minnesota - Minnesota Organic Milk (MOM's) is a successful family-run organic dairy that sells their dairy products to numerous Twin Cities food co-operatives and grocery stores.
• Naturally Iowa LLC, Clarinda, Iowa - The products from this organic, all-natural dairy include fluid milk, drinkable yogurt, ice cream and the use of bottles made of corn, known as PLA (Ingeo) bottles.
• Organic Dairy Producers Profit, Market to Market, Iowa Public Television, 2003 - Organic Valley of Lafarge, Wisconsin, is the nation’s largest farmer-owned organic dairy cooperative.
• Organic Dairy Production Systems, Producer Profiles in Organic Dairy, Xtension - This Web page provides access to six profiles about organic dairy producers from New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin.
• An Organic Dairying Overview from the Krusenbaum Farm Studies, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, 1995 - This site provides an overview of how Altfrid and Sue Krusenbaum of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, made the transition from conventional to organic dairying.
• Organic Valley™ , LaFarge, Wisconsin - This cooperative claims to be the largest organic farmer-owned cooperative in the United States. It represents more than 600 farm families in 18 states.
• Organic Valley Family of Farms, Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools, La Farge, Wisconsin - Headquartered in a rural town, CROPP is one of the most successful farmer-owned food cooperatives in the country.
• Radiance Dairy, Fairfield, Iowa - Francis and Susan Thicke direct market the organic products from their family-run dairy farm, capturing more of the profit.
• Scholten Family Farm, Weybridge, Vermont, Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, 2009 - Roger and Patty Scholten started organic production in 2007 and are already producing delicious artisanal cheeses.
• Springfield Creamery, Springfield, Oregon - In the late 1960s, dairy producers Chuck and Sue Kesey first started to do custom bottling and provided milk to local schools. They were interested in the emerging concept of incorporating beneficial cultures into their yogurts.
• Straus Family Creamery, Marshall, California - This small, family-owned dairy farm is located in Marin County. The creamery offers milk, yogurt, ice cream and butter that is certified kosher. Refundable glass milk bottles are used.

Links checked August 2010.