Organic Valley in the News

So, where to find these "graziers," as they're known?

The best bet is to check for local dairies where you live, find out if their animals are pasture raised, and then go see for yourself. Online resources like the Eat Well Guide and LocalHarvest.org are helpful in locating good dairies or stores that sell their products. And there are labels (some good and others misleading) to help make sense of what you're really getting.

There are also larger businesses, like Organic Valley, that have taken steps to improve the welfare of their animals. "Our dairy animals have the best life of any dairy animals in this country, that's for certain," said Wendy Fulwider, the company's animal husbandry specialist. "We do have pasture requirements, so they do get to spend a lot of time outdoors and they get excellent pasture to eat. They get exercise and sunshine and have the most nutritious milk. They are incredibly healthy."

Thanks to everyone who voted and nominated during our Top Ten Sustainable CEOs Survey. The results are in and posted below. (You can see the entire list at the bottom of the original post, as well as the great conversations the nomination process produced).

Before we get too excited about the ranking, I want to emphasize that there was nothing scientific about this process and its real purpose was as much to provoke conversation as it was to give recognition to some of our most enlightened business leaders.

It was also about challenging readers and leaders alike to ask themselves what the definition of “sustainable leadership” really is. In some cases these leaders have helped create products and services with positive environmental or social impact, in others they have helped build a corporate culture that rewards and nourishes employees and stakeholders in new ways. Some are well known, others more humble. As you think about the “winners” keep in mind the very loose and changing definition of the word “sustainable” and leave some comments as to what it means to you.

I’m thinking a lot about food systems these days. Fundamentally, there seems to be collective agreement that ours is broken (unless you happen to work for Monsanto or Smithfield), so I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how we might fix it.

It's awfully tough to make money selling milk. Small dairy farms have been hit particularly hard by the recession, with milk prices at near-historic lows. Still, some farms are fighting the odds. For one family dairy way up in northern Vermont, the way to survive was joining a co-op and going organic.

If you happen to read certain milk cartons, you might find “Cows. (We just love ’em.)” And further, “Speaking of cows, we support the goals of those audacious bovines at Cows Unite. You go, girls!” The cartons go on, “Cows Unite!” and direct citizen milk drinkers to visit www.cowsunite.org.

When you visit the website, you find three amazing live-action videos depicting a cow telling her farmer about the rebellion, a monstrous herd of cows staging a breakout from a conventional factory dairy farm, and a cow being interrogated with a lie detector by Dragnet police-types as they try to find out more about the cow rebellion.

Chuck Bushman, an organic milk and egg producer near Castalia, had a successful 2009. He markets through Wisconsin-based Organic Valley, which contracts with producers to avoid price volatility.

Bushman enjoyed a healthy bottom line. He received $1.80 per dozen for eggs that cost $1 to produce. Ten thousand chickens roost on the farm.

Organic milk brought $22 to $23 per hundredweight, about $7 to $8 more than the cost of production. Bushman has 50 cows.

Each brand had its own point of view, from flavor to aroma to color and texture. And each member of the tasting panel came at the brands with his or her opinion of what egg nog should be. Scores varied widely for almost all the brands.

All the eggnogs were tasted as-is. No spiking. No extra spicing. Each was rated on a score of 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest.

The clear-cut winner: Oberweis. In second place was Southern Comfort Traditional Eggnog (and, yes, the carton does suggest stirring in a dram or two). Two eggnogs tied for third place, C.F. Burger Creamery's Colonial Style Custard Nog and Organic Valley.

If you happen to read certain milk cartons, you might find “Cows. (We just love ’em.)” And further, “Speaking of cows, we support the goals of those audacious bovines at Cows Unite. You go, girls!” The cartons go on, “Cows Unite!” and direct citizen milk drinkers to visit www.cowsunite.org.

When you visit the website, you find three amazing live-action videos depicting a cow telling her farmer about the rebellion, a monstrous herd of cows staging a breakout from a conventional factory dairy farm, and a cow being interrogated with a lie detector by Dragnet police-types as they try to find out more about the cow rebellion.

What better day than Thanksgiving to celebrate our country's food rebels!

I'm talking about the growing movement of small farmers, food artisans, local retailers, co-ops, community organizers, restaurateurs, environmentalists, consumers and others -- perhaps including you. This movement has spread the rich ideas of sustainability, organic, local control and the Common Good from the fringes of our food economy into the mainstream.

It began in earnest in the 1980s and 1990s as an "upchuck rebellion" -- ordinary folks rejecting the industrialized, chemicalized, corporatized and globalized food system. Farmers wanted a more natural connection to the good earth that they were working, just as consumers began demanding edibles that were not saturated with pesticides, injected with antibiotics, ripened with chemicals, dosed with artificial flavorings and otherwise tortured.

Most of us don't realize that our dinner tells many stories, embodying our personal histories, family memories, music, art and other connections ... besides our tummies. To help reawaken those cultural links in a way that can be tasty, touching and fun, the folks at Organic Valley Family of Farms have come up with the novel idea of earth dinners.

Old MacDonald had a farm… but was it organic?

Two young organic farmers representing Organic Valley presented a workshop entitled, “An Introduction to Organic Farming and Gardening,” at the 2009 National FFA Convention. About 300 FFA members and guests attended the first of two workshops presented by Organic Valley, a farmer-owned organic cooperative based in Wisconsin. This marks the fourth year that Organic Valley representatives attended National FFA Convention and the second year Organic Valley has presented a workshop.

Joe Pedretti, Organic Valley Farm Outreach Manager, said the relationship between National FFA and Organic Valley is an important one to garner interest in younger generations. “One of the big misconceptions is that organic is trying to promote itself as better than other types of agriculture. But really what we want to show folks is that’s an alternative… it’s another option,” Pedretti said.

Preston Green and Sarah Holm, both college students in Wisconsin, presented the workshop, citing their farms as examples of organic success stories. “I can honestly say if it weren’t for Organic Valley, my family wouldn’t be farming today,” Green said. “My dad can tell me honestly that he wants me to farm. He knows there’s a future in organic agriculture and he knows there’s a future in agriculture for me.”