The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s animal-science program has long offered a dairy-science emphasis. But because enrollment in that emphasis has grown about 50 percent in the past decade, the university launched a new dairy-science major in fall 2016. Organic Valley, as well as Compeer Financial, has donated to the dairy-science program to help support courses.

Organic Valley hosted “Grass Up” May 2 in Madison, Wisconsin. The event provided attendees, including legislators and agricultural-business representatives, opportunities to learn more about the benefits of grass-based livestock agriculture.

George Siemon, a founding farmer and CEO of Organic Valley, said one of the reasons the organic cooperative donated $50,000 to UW-Platteville’s dairy-science program was to help support curriculum that addresses organic – as well as conventional – dairy production and processing.

“Because 5 percent of Wisconsin’s dairy farms produce organic milk, schools like UW-Platteville should offer education about organic,” Siemon said. “But it requires funding.”

In addition to Wisconsin, there are a lot of organic dairy farmers in Oregon and Vermont, Siemon said. There are 228 dairy farms in Oregon; Organic Valley has 38 farmer-members in the state. So at least 16 percent of the dairy farms produce organic milk and are Organic Valley members.

Comprised of 1,800 farmer-members in 36 states, Organic Valley is headquartered in La Farge, Wisconsin. It also has an organic-cheese facility in Cashton, Wisconsin.

Keith Wilson, an organic dairy farmer from Cuba City, Wisconsin, serves on the board of directors for CROPP Cooperative-Organic Valley. An alumnus of UW-Platteville, Wilson said he wanted to see more aspects of organic-dairy production covered at the university. He invited Sandie Brick-Margelofsky, development officer of UW-Platteville’s College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture, and Jodi McDermott, the college’s assistant dean, to visit his farm and discuss the possibility of adding organic-dairy content to the school’s curriculum.

Wilson made an impact. He was later invited to his alma mater to provide four guest lectures during the fall 2016 semester.

“I talked about our family’s organic-dairy farm and my obsession with healthy soils,” Wilson said.

He also told students about careers available in the organic-dairy industry – marketing and sales, for example, in addition to production.

Platteville plans grazing studies

Tera Montgomery, an associate professor of dairy and animal science and coordinator of the animal-science program at UW-Platteville, also attended the Grass Up event. She told attendees about the university’s dairy-science program.

This spring, UW-Platteville offered students a dairy-products analysis and processing class. In the class students participate in blind taste-tests where they sample different types of dairy milk as well as alternatives such as soy milk. Students then discuss what causes the milks to taste differently, and how cows produce omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid – CLA.

When cattle eat a natural diet of grass, they produce milk that’s higher in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids. Grain-fed cattle produce a higher percentage of omega-6 fatty acids. The differences are great enough that fatty-acid analysis is used to authenticate the origins of bulk milk, according to Carrie Dennett, a registered dietitian. She said conjugated linoleic acide is present in the milk and meat of ruminant animals; it appears to have anticarcinogenic and antiatherogenic effects.

“But most of the current evidence comes from animal studies and uses synthetic conjugated linoleic acid,” Dennett wrote. “Attempts to extrapolate these benefits to humans suggest that, even if conjugated linoleic acid does have human benefit, the amounts needed would be significantly higher than what’s present in milk fat.”

In the upcoming fall semester UW-Platteville will offer a calf-and-heifer systems program that addresses different ways to raise the animals, Montgomery said. Students will learn how an organic farmer might treat the animals for diseases. Students also will learn about grazing small ruminant animals and cattle together. And they’ll have opportunities to hear guest lecturers as well as visit grass-fed operations to learn about the economics associated with those types of farms. Students will be encouraged to conduct their own research projects.

“We pride ourselves on student-based projects,” Montgomery said. “We help students to think critically.”