Dairy farmer makes up profit after going organic
I wrote a story in today's paper about a dairy farmer in Frederick County who switched to an organic operation and has seen his profits go up.
He was interested in the welfare of his animals, the environment and his consumers, but a survey by Maryland Extension showed that he was pulling down almost twice as much as the average in the survey.
Some of this is because milk prices are low, which benefits farmers whose cows graze (verses conventional "confinement" operations) because they get fewer pounds of milk per cow but bring in much higher prices. So, when prices are high, this farmer, Ron Holter, may not make as much.
But, he's keeping pesticides out of the fields, and is managing his manure is a way that's better for the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways. His cows, and therefore his customers, also aren't getting hormones and antibiotics common in traditional dairy farming.
Holter sells his milk to Organic Valley, which sells it in local stores.
Ag experts at the farm yesterday said that demand for grass-fed and organic milk is booming.
So, you got milk? And are you willing to pay more for the grass-fed or organic kind?
Baltimore Sun photos by Meredith Cohn
Comments
Good for him. I'm willing to pay more for organic milk. Especially grass fed because it tastes much better.
Posted by: Lesley | June 25, 2009 9:14 AM
I could never understand why organic is more expensive. The farmer is not purchasing pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, and antibiotics that raise costs. Also, the cost of animal feed is much lower because the animals eat the grass.
Posted by: NotableM | June 25, 2009 11:48 AM
It's great to see more and more local farmers becoming organic. There's no reason that so many pesticides, antibiotics and hormones need to be used in our food.
Posted by: Patrick | June 27, 2009 11:44 PM
Organic Milk is awesome. My daughter's mild teenage problems with acne completely cleared up when we switched from regular milk to organic milk. On the few occasions when the grocery store has been out of organic and I got regular milk, she started breaking out again! Her doctor suggested it's due to the hormones in the regular milk!
Posted by: Juliet | June 28, 2009 9:17 PM