Vermont Organic Dairy Farmer to Accept the Award at U.N. Ceremonies
Organic Valley Family of Farms, the nation's oldest and largest cooperative of organic farmers, is being presented the Earth Trustee Award by the Earth Society Foundation, an organization founded by Margaret Mead and John McConnell in 1976 to foster environmental projects that promote clean land, air and water.
The Foundation began Earth Day celebrations almost 30 years ago and continues that celebration every year by ringing the Peace Bell at the United Nations, followed by the awards ceremony.
At this year's ceremonies on March 20th, Organic Valley dairy farmer Regina Beidler will accept the award on behalf of Organic Valley. Together with her husband Brent, Beidler runs a 150-acre dairy farm in Randolph Center, Vermont. Three generations of Beidlers will be on hand for the presentation ceremony at the U.N. Beidler will be accompanied by both her mother and her daughter.
The following are excerpts of Beidler's March 20th remarks:
"Organic Valley began in 1988 with seven farmers who believed that a new and sustainable approach to farming was needed if family farms and rural communities were to survive. These original farmers formed the Coulee Region Organic Produce Pool to market their vegetables and soon moved into organic dairy products. From these beginnings Organic Valley has grown from 7 farms in Wisconsin to almost 750 farms in 22 states that produce organic vegetables, juice, dairy products, soy, eggs and meat.
The central mission of Organic Valley is to support the health of rural communities by supporting the health of family farms. This is accomplished through providing a steady and sustainable price for farm products as well as integrating farmers into every level of the cooperative. Organic Valley is owned by its farmers. A number of members of the management team and staff are current or former farmers including George Siemon, the CEO, who was one of the original seven who formed the coop. All of Organic Valley's farmer owners are represented regionally by peer-elected representatives to executive committees and the Board of Directors is again made up entirely of elected farmers. Each farm, regardless of size, has one vote. In a time when many farmers feel disconnected from the marketing of their products we have been given the rare opportunity to have a voice in many of the decisions being made at our cooperative.
My family's relationship with Organic Valley began six years ago in 2000. However, our journey to organic farming began well before that time and was influenced by family members, professors and experiences that led us steadily to where we are today.
When I introduce my husband, Brent, I often say that he is someone who was meant to farm. Both of us grew up in Vermont but had maternal grandparents who farmed in Pennsylvania. Trips to the farms were anticipated weeks in advance and for my husband were sleep deprived marathons as he didn't want to spend time sleeping for fear of missing something. Brent's grandparents raised 13 children on a 125 acre dairy farm. Years later, Brent's youngest uncle took over the dairy operation after his parents retired and he followed the common prescription for farmers - a high producing herd of cows and chemical fertilizers and pesticides on his crop land. Despite all of this, things were not going well financially. The family was stressed and they learned that the spring that provided clean water for the farm had been contaminated by the nitrates contained in chemical fertilizers used by their farm and surrounding farms. Nevin decided it was time to make a change. He reintroduced intensive grazing practices on the farm, taking cows to pasture rather than confining the cows in the barn. He also stopped using chemical fertilizers and pesticides and returned to crop rotation and cultivation. Family members and neighbors scoffed but Brent's grandmother was delighted. The spring that used to host families of ducks was given the space and opportunity to purify itself and after a number of years did just that and was once again potable.
Brent had the opportunity to watch his uncle's experience closely and the lessons he learned strongly influenced Brent towards organic methods. These were further enforced by an influential professor, Bill Murphy, who championed intensively managed pasturing as a sustainable, earth friendly and profitable practice. Working as volunteers in Bangladesh and Chad gave us the opportunity to appreciate the value of biological diversity and the ability to save seed as well the value of farmers sharing knowledge with each other.
A number of dairy farmers allowed us to work on their farms giving us the practical skills we needed to run our own farm. In 1998, we purchased our farm in Central Vermont, 145 acres of cropland, pasture and woodland nestled into the side of a hill. We milk 40 cows that each have their own name and stall in our barn. My 8 year old daughter, Erin, takes an active part naming calves, bringing in cows from pasture, feeding kelp and playing in the hay mow while bales are unloaded for winter feeding.
We began our transition to organic immediately after purchasing our farm and were able to be certified in the spring of 2000 right around the time when Organic Valley came to talk with Vermont farmers about being part of the cooperative. We were drawn to Organic Valley by its mission and the clear sense that we would be able to have a voice in our own future.
At Organic Valley we see the relationship between our farmers and the consumers who buy our products as a partnership that is mutually beneficial. By buying products produced without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics or synthetic hormones you allow us to produce food that benefits the health of all children - yours and mine. A recent study conducted by a research team from Emory University analyzed the urine of children ages 3 to 11 who ate only organic food and found that they contained virtually no metabolites of two common pesticides, malathion and chlorpyrifos. However, once these children returned to eating conventional food, concentrations of these pesticide metabolites quickly climbed as high as 263 parts per billion. Eating organic food has a protective effect and also has been shown through studies to have significantly higher levels of antioxidants and vitamins and minerals.
Buying organic supports farmers who are using methods protective of water, soil and wildlife. Several summers ago a researcher came to our farm to count how many species of birds they could find during the course of several hours. The report sent later showed 24 species of birds including: bobolinks, scarlet tanagers, downy woodpeckers, indigo buntings, goldfinches and hermit thrushes. Organic works in harmony with nature - protecting habitats and allowing food production and wildlife to live side by side.
Finally, buying organic allows small farms to continue to exist and to extend hope for the future of farming to the next generation. Since the 1940s our country has lost 4 million farms. Only 90,000 dairy farms remain today and they are going under at the rate of 50 a day.
Additionally, the farm community is aging with the average age of farmers in this country at 55 years old. In contrast, two thirds of Organic Valley's farmers are less than 50 years old and a quarter of the farmers are younger than 40. A sustainable food production system is essential to our country's future. Organic farming offers a sustainable pay price and the ability for small family operations to thrive. We are able to do what we love and to earn our livelihood from that endeavor. Dignity has been returned to agriculture."
Organic Valley: Independent and Farmer Owned
Organic Valley Family of Farms is America's largest cooperative of organic farmers and is one of the nation's leading organic brands. Organized in 1988, it represents nearly 750 farmers in 22 states and realized a record $245 million in 2005 sales. Focused on its founding mission of keeping small and mid-sized farmers farming, Organic Valley produces 200 organic foods, including organic milk, soy, cheese, butter, spreads, creams, eggs, produce, juice and meats which are sold in supermarkets, natural foods stores and food cooperatives nationwide. For more information, call 1-888-444-MILK or visit www.organicvalley.coop.
