So, You're Thinking About Going Organic?
Article By: John Schedivy & JD Greenwalt, Westby Cooperative Creamery
The year is 1988. Mike Tyson defeats Larry Holmes in a fourth-round knockout; the Beatles are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Tetris, the video game, launches, and organic milk is first picked up off the farm. It took until 1990 for the U.S. government to establish the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), creating national standards and establishing the National Organic Program (NOP), which is responsible for labeling foods as organic. For the next 35 years, many dairy farms across the U.S. have transitioned to organic production, with others waiting or not quite sure how to make that transition.
How to transition an existing conventional farm to organic dairy production. The first step is to find a partner of your choice in an organic certification agency. MOSA, NICS, and Minnesota Crop Improvement are local examples with multiple other options available as well. These agencies will look to the farmers for documentation on how the land husbandry will be performed for the next three years. The third year of this period is known as the "transition" for the land and the dairy herd simultaneously. The first two years prepare the land for organic certification, a full three-year process. The partnership with the certifier will help each dairy farm choose the path for soil amendments (fertilizer) and proper seed selection. This will prepare the feed base for the dairy cows to transition to organic during their lactation period. The animals themselves must consume transitional year three feed or purchased organic feed during the final 12 months to be considered organic dairy at the end of this period. The animal itself is not considered organic unless it is born after this 12-month transitional period; however, they can produce organic milk.
The actual transition is a rigorous and documented process for the land and the animals themselves. To transition the feed given to the dairy herd, a farmer must be able to prove that no sprays have been used on the land in any form - pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides. The land must be chemical-free for two years prior to feeding to a transitional herd. The organic certifier inspects all records, walks the land, and observes adjacent properties, where setbacks may be necessary to protect from overspray and run-off. In some cases, neighboring properties may be asked to validate their practices that would impact adjacent organic certification. The inspector will conduct a pre-inspection and an annual inspection every year as long as the organic certification is in use.
After these two years of land transition, a dairy herd is ready to begin its transition to organic milk production while the land completes its third year. It is a misperception that the land must complete all three years before the cattle can begin. It takes three years to fully transition the land, of which the third year can be utilized to transition the dairy herd.
To certify as organic, a herd must consume third-year transition feed or purchased certified organic feed. During the 12 months, all milk produced is not certified organic and must be sold as conventional. At a minimum, 30% of all feed intake must be from a documented green and growing crop "pasture" for a minimum of 120 days out of the year. The other 70% is grain, hay, and forage, all from a third-year land transition or certified organic source. As a rule of thumb, each cow/calf combination requires one acre of pasture to meet this requirement, and many organic farms pasture significantly more than the minimum.
This transition process also includes animal husbandry to care for the animals. Medications during the third year and after must be documented, and once the certificate is issued, any animal receiving medication must be removed from the farm and cannot return, as they will not be individually certified as organic.
After this year of animal transition, all milk will be certified as organic, and any calves born after the organic certificate has been issued would be considered organic by birth whereas the cows that went through the transition process will themselves be organic lactation eligible only. The inspection from the certifying body continues as long as the organic certification is in use.
The decision to transition a farm and its dairy herd to organic is not an easy one. It takes a three-year process and is costly to the farm to certify. Organic feed is more expensive during the transition when the herd is making conventional milk. Any business looking to make an investment in their long-term business must be able to withstand this extra cost before receiving the benefit, and a farm is no different. It is not uncommon for a cooperative to assist a farm financially to help it afford the migration from conventional to organic. The Westby Cooperative Creamery, for example, provides a stipend to help cover these costs. Milk is sold by the hundred weight (cwt), and the Westby Creamery provides a $2/cwt bonus during the final 12 months to offset the higher feed cost before the benefit of the higher organic pricing is seen.
Many farms do not have the disposable income to make this investment and may feel trapped in the conventional market only. Knowing there are options to help can make the difference in a family farm making it to the next generation.
John Schedivy is the senior field representative for the Westby Cooperative Creamery and has worked for the creamery for 38 years. John is an instrumental connection between the creamery's patrons and the manufacturing facility, ensuring the milk received meets all expectations and guidelines. John's family immigrated to the United States in 1907 from Austria to the southwestern Wisconsin area where he grew up on a dairy farm. This background makes the personal connection in the dairy business, and nothing pleases him more than to see the local farmer succeed.
JD Greenwalt is the president and CEO for the Westby Cooperative Creamery, joining the organization in 2023. JD's 35-year career in the food and beverage industry includes companies such as Kraft Foods, HP Hood, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and General Mills with roughly half of his career in the dairy industry. Having grown up on a small farmstead in eastern Iowa and marrying his high school sweetheart, his wife and three sons have moved across the country coast to coast, now live in their eight state, and look to finish his career where it all started - in a small agricultural community where the impact of a successful cooperative can be seen and felt every day.
