Organic dairy products

Strauss Family Farms built the first dairy plant in Marshall, California. Here they make butter, and bottle milk in glass bottles. Organic Valley built the second plant in Chaseburg, Wisconsin, where they manufacture their European-style cultured butter and reload milk. These two facilities account for less than 10% of the organic dairy production in the United States. The remainder is done by a complex infrastructure of conventional dairy plants. 

In the United States, there is a federal standard for fluid dairy production that is known as the Interstate Milk Standard. This is a standard that is supported by the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), both of which carry out various parts of the inspection process. The standard requires that dairy facilities can audit the milk from the farm through the plant and as finished product. Because this infrastructure already exists, the auditing of organic dairy production is quite simple. 

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Padel, S., Fowler, S., McCalman, H. Lampkin, N. (2000) Financial implications of organic dairy production in the UK. Proceedings of the 13th International IFOAM Scientific Conference, Basel, Switzerland, p. 670. 

Part II provides detailed information on the main quality and safety issues related to the production of organic livestock foods. This includes three chapters (Chapters 7 to 9) which review the effect of livestock husbandry on nutritional and sensory quality of livestock foods including milk and dairy products (Chapter 7), poultry (Chapter 8) and pork (Chapter 9). It also includes four chapters (Chapters 10 to 13) which review the strategies used to minimise microbiological risks and antibiotic and veterinary medicine use in livestock production systems including safety of ruminants (Chapter 10), mastitis treatment in organic dairy production systems (Chapter 11), internal parasites (Chapter 12) and pigs and poultry (Chapter 13). 

The estimates are intuitively very credible. They suggest, for example, that a 10% increase in the price of organic dairy products (with no change in conventional prices) would decrease organic consumption by 22.7% and increase consumption of conventional products by 1.3%. However, an increase... 

Ebbesvik M and Loes A K (1994), Organic dairy production in Norway - feeding, health, fodder production, nutrient balance and economy - results from the 30-farm-project 1989-1992 , in Granstedt Aand Koistinen R, Converting to Organic Agriculture Seminar, Scandinavian Association of Agricultural Scientists, 93, 35 13. 

Reducing antibiotic use for mastitis treatment in organic dairy production... 

Vaarst, M. and Bennedsgaard, T.W. 2001. Reduced medication in organic farming with emphasis on organic dairy production. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 42(Suppl. 95) 51-57. 

Fig. 8.1 Family farm-based organic dairy production and distribution.

Organic cheese production was one of the foundation stones of organic dairy just 10 years ago. Today organic cheese accounts for 13% of the milk used for organic dairy products. 

The initial hierarchical value map for dairy products was based on 67 interviews in which the purchase of dairy products was mentioned and explained 38.6% of linkages. Respondents were asked what attributes they considered when buying organic dairy products and which of these attributes were critical to their decision to purchase. Examination of the preliminary map, cut-off 4, showed two complete chains and several nearly complete chains leading from the concrete attributes Less chemicals and Less hormones, to three terminal values. Own health, Family health, and Enjoyment, with a complex network of routes between. 

There is one main bifurcated pathway in the middle of the map (Map 5.3). Two dominant paths lead to the terminal values. Own health, and Enjoyment. Of these. Own health is the dominant value (35) reached via Eating healthily and Good quality. The abstract attribute Good quality thus acts as a central node for both these paths. Enjoyment is the second most important value of the bifurcated chain and is linked with an instrumental value. Food as enjoyment (or Eating for pleasure). People buy organic dairy products because they think they taste better and are healthier. These food qualities are mostly expressed by consumers as Less chemicals, in turn defined as more natural. These are not new findings but the analysis confirms established associations with some very clear evidence. 

Price was a main barrier (map not shown) to the purchase of organic dairy products. The attribute Too expensive (23) strongly connected to Cannot afford and, less strongly to Not willing to pay more. Lack of convenience due to lack of availability in shops was the second highest barrier to purchase. Three less important barriers resulted from comparison with conventional products Smaller range. Good quality of conventional products, and No difference. A final node Lack of trust was mentioned in only 3 interviews. 

Sources. Phosphorus is found in most foods because it is a critical component of all living organisms. Dairy products, meat, and fish are particularly rich sources of phosphorus. Phosphorus is also... 

In dairy production, comparisons between organic and non-organic production systems indicate little difference in ammonia emissions. The few studies available in the Netherlands name positive i.e. loose bam stable system) as well as negative i.e. outdoor composting of manure) aspects of organic dairy production (Peppelman etal, 2002). 

A higher use of locally produced forage crops in organic dairy production may reduce the energy use via reductions in the energy-costly import of concentrates. 

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