Family Farms

The mission of our Cooperative is to offer sustainable markets to family sized organic farms through organic production. Defining a family farm is a longstanding debate in the farm movement, because family farms are different depending on what products they produce or in what region their farm is located. Today’s family farm is much larger than the farm of 20 years ago due to changes in machinery, lifestyles and the loss of other family farms. To us it is pretty simple: a family farm is one where the family members provide the primary workforce and the farm is their livelihood. That being said, we do not believe that a definition alone can determine a family farm. Most important is the on-site visit by our staff and other farmer/members. Their recommendation is a critical part of the selection process. We are not just seeking family farms; we are looking for farmers that embrace organic integrity and that want to be part of our Cooperative.

Dairy

Organic Valley is a cooperative which is owned by more than 1300 family farmers. As of June 2009 we have 1051 dairy farmer members. Our average dairy herd size is 76, and our staff visits all of our farms on a regular basis. Click here to see our Organic Valley Dairy Herd Chart which shows the number of dairy cows at each of our dairy members' farms.

Eggs

Organic Valley currently has 76 egg farmer-owners, some with two different egg barns to offset production cycles. Flocks range between 1,200 and 16,000 hens with an average flock of approximately 5,000 birds—very small when compared to conventional caged bird houses that often have between 100,000 and 250,000 hens. Our staff regularly visits our farms to check on air quality, access to the outdoors and other Organic Valley requirements that go beyond those required by the National Organic Standards. Our farmers are required to provide 1.75 square feet per bird indoors and five square feet per bird outdoors. An exception to this is made for our producer in California, where state veterinarians and the California Department of Agriculture strongly advocate that birds not have free-range outdoor access because of the risk of Avian Influenza transmission. Our California farmer-owner has screened houses with lots of natural light, and his outdoor access method is approved by his organic certifier, Oregon Tilth. All Organic Valley egg farmers provide scratch areas, roosts, plenty of nests, a mixed organic food ration and constant access to clean water. We encourage our egg farmers to do as much as they can to be feed self-sufficient, growing as much of their own feed as possible on their farms. Click here to see our Organic Valley Egg Flock Chart which shows the number of hens at each of our egg members' farms.