Press Releases

If you're lactose intolerant, you now have many lactose free options to enjoy organic cow's milk. Organic Valley Family of Farms, providers of the nation's only lactose free certified organic milk in distribution, completes its line of lactose free offerings with the introduction of Organic Valley 2% Reduced Fat Lactose Free Milk.

Summer's almost here, and the time is right for a healthy serving of strawberry or vanilla organic milk wherever you may be. Organic Valley is now offering its Shelf Stable Single Serve Milk in organic Strawberry and Vanilla flavors.

"Kids and families are on the go year-round, but especially in the summer," said Sara Tedeschi, community nutrition educator for Organic Valley. "When you're out and about, finding healthy food and drink choices can be a challenge. Fortunately, with shelf stable Organic Valley single serve milk, you can take nutritious organic milk with you pretty much anywhere, with no refrigeration necessary.

The nation's largest cooperative of organic farmers is now offering its most popular product in bulk for foodservice distributors nationwide. Organic Valley today is announcing it will distribute its milk in bag-in-boxes.

The milk will be in five-gallon boxes, with all unit sizes 12.5 inches long by 11.25 inches wide by 13.25 inches in height. It will feature regional HTST production, and be available in Nonfat Skim, Lowfat 1%, Reduced Fat 2% and Whole.

Say che-ese. Organic Valley, the first in the nation to offer organic cheese, is expanding its cheese offerings to foodservice distributors with 15 new options.

Get ready for barbecue season! Beef from Organic Prairie, America's largest cooperative of organic family farmers, is now offered in select ShopRite stores.

Organic Prairie beef is available in seven varieties for summer grilling, including: premium New York strip steak, premium sirloin steak, premium boneless chuck roast, premium beef strips for fajita/stirfry and 1 pound packs of fresh ground beef in 85 percent and 90 percent lean varieties.

Offers Beef, Chicken, Classic and Turkey Hot Dogs in both Fresh and Frozen Lines with New "Old World" Formulation. Just in time for the start of baseball season this spring, Organic Prairie's has expanded its Fresh Hot Dog line to include two new varieties, Turkey and Chicken. The improved line now features all of America's traditional family hot dog favorites: Turkey, Beef, Chicken and Classic (Beef and Pork).

The rare and elegant Kincaid's Lupine (lupinus sulphereus kincaidii) will be the guest of honor at Lupine Field Days—a celebration of the endangered plant's unexpected resurgence—held at the Mallonee farm in the Boistfort Valley of Western Washington on Monday, June 11, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

An Organic Valley founding farmer and Organic Valley board president Wayne Peters received the cooperative's highest honor, the Ray Hass Organic Pioneer Award, at the co-op's 19th annual meeting, held recently in La Farge, Wis.

Each year, Organic Valley recognizes a deserving farmer with the award, which acknowledges the recipient's devotion to organic farming and the cooperative as a whole.The award is named for the late Ray Hass, also an Organic Valley founding farmer.

Farmer members of Organic Valley are used to getting a monthly check from their cooperative for an amount that typically far exceeds conventional pay prices. But recently, they received a surprise delivery in the mail: a 13th check that added another $.75/cwt to their pay price for 2006.

"I've never been so proud to be part of Organic Valley as I am today," said Theresa Westaby, who runs an organic dairy farm with her husband, Delmar, in Stockton, Ill. "I've always had a lot of pride in our co-op, but when I recently showed the 13th check we received to our banker, he reminded me how special Organic Valley is. He said, 'I wonder how many conventional farmers got a bonus check this year?' I replied, sadly, 'none.' I'm grateful to the co-op for giving us the freedom to farm and live how we want."

Organic Valley farmers are joining the Center for Food Safety in a fight against the sale of Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) alfalfa seed. Products certified under the USDA Organic seal cannot be genetically modified, and GM alfalfa drift threatens the integrity of certified-organic alfalfa crops, says the organic farmer-owned cooperative.

"Consumers respect and trust what the USDA organic seal represents, which includes no GMOs," said Organic Valley CEO George Siemon. "If the seal no longer represents a GMO-free product, the integrity of the seal will be greatly compromised and consumers may no longer choose organic products. The organic dairy industry is now at approximately $1.4 billion in sales. GM alfalfa drift would severely impact the market for our farmers' products."