celebrating the organic
harvest
Regional Product Spotlight
Or ganic Valley Dair y Cooperating for Regionally Produced Milk rganic Valley (OV) began in 1988 with just seven farmers who shared a love of the land and a belief that a new, sustainable approach to agriculture was needed for family farms and rural communities to survive. With more and more family farms threatened with extinction, these farmers set out to create a solution.
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That solution has grown into the largest, organic, farmer-owned cooperative in North America and one of the largest organic brands in the nation. Over the years, those first founding farmers have been joined by over six hundred others, in states from California to Maine. Now farmers in Texas, New Mexico and southern Colorado have joined the OV “Family of Farmers” to produce fresh milk for La Montanita’s New Mexican network of consumer-owned co-ops. Like our Co-op, though growing at a rapid pace, Organic Valley remains true to its roots. They are the only organic brand to be solely owned and operated by organic farmers. Much like La Montanita Co-op pays workers a living wage, and for nearly 15 yeas has returned patronage refunds to community owners, part of OV success is due to the fact that the farmer-owners pay themselves a stable, equitable and sustainable pay price. In an era of rising and falling agricultural prices, the family farmers who produce Organic Valley organic milk, juice, eggs, meat, and produce can rely on that stable, living wage to stay in business in their home regions. Farmers from all over the world trek regularly to their headquarters in rural La Farge, Wisconsin, to learn what makes the OV cooperative model work. Being farmer-owned and independent has also allowed them to stay true to their mission – keeping family farmers farming. Sharing the vision of a truly sustainable agriculture, OV farmers go beyond organic standards with their stewardship of the earth. They are at the heart of the organic revolution. The mile high, Colorado farm of Dr. Meg Cattell and Dr. Arden Nelson's is not a typical dairy, yet it is a classic example of what makes the OV cooperative and products so special.
Rocky Mountain Pastures When Meg and Arden met in 1993, it was at a dairy science conference. Love was in the air: "We hit it off right away, comparing notes on our research and experiences with farming," Meg recalled. "We got married in 1999, and started consulting together, formulating rations and preventative medicine programs for dairy farms around the country. In 2000, we settled in Windsor." The dairy Meg and Arden purchased was a conventional farm, but they didn't want to run an operation that used pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals. With a desire to go organic and an interest in leveraging the Rocky Mountain river valley's ideal farming environment, they began transitioning the farm to organic and planting pastures of native perennial grasses. The couple's 400 cows thrive by grazing 1,048 acres of seasonal grass and crops which are carefully tended by the two veterinarians who share a love of agriculture, science and organic living. Rotational grazing is one of many ways that the good doctors have applied their scientific knowhow to improve the production and health of their cows, which produce organic milk sold in Colorado, Texas and New Mexico under the new Organic Valley Rocky Mountain Pastures™ label.
herd will graze on sorghum and alfalfa and then move to native perennial grass in fall and spring, and to fields of wheat, rye or triticale in winter. "If we take care of cows and feed them correctly, they are healthier so are the consumers of their dairy products," Meg explained. Meg and Arden's choice to be organic farmers has as much—if not more—to do with their passionate commitment to caring for the environment and producing nutritious food for their young family. “We never have used herbicides or pesticides or harsh chemicals around our children," Meg said. "And we have the luxury of raising or trading for almost all of our own organic food. Our children are robust, but sheltered from harmful exposures."
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ou can taste the difference in OV Rocky Mountain Pastures’ milk. Less traveled, this organic milk is truly fresh with the added bonus of knowing that it is part of a nation wide cooperative that provides an alternative to the corporate model. But it’s the taste of true quality in OV Rocky Mountain Pastures Milk that leads Meg and Arden’s four-year-old, Fiona, to exclaim, "The milk is so good, you take one sip, and then you have to take another sip... and another." La Montanita Coop is pleased to carry Organic Valley Co-op products at all our locations.
The practice also is a symbol of Meg and Arden's eclectic combination of careers in farming and science, their commitment to sustainable agriculture, and their desire to feed their children, Fiona, four, and Sam, two—as well as other families—delicious organic food. With careful management of their seasonal rotational grazing system their cows will have access to pasture year-round and will only be confined to buildings in extreme weather. In the summer, the
National Organic Month Special Report:
Free-range eggs are more nutritious!
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ew research by Mother Earth News magazine provides more evidence that industrial agriculture is producing inferior food. Tests of eggs from four free-range flocks found that, compared to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for eggs from confinement production systems, the eggs from chickens raised on free range were much more nutritious — up to twice as rich in vitamin E, up to six times richer in beta carotene (a form of vitamin A) and four times richer in essential omega-3 fatty acids. And, the free-range eggs averaged only half as much cholesterol as the USDA data indicates for confinement-system eggs. Mother Earth News magazine, a leader of the “Real Food Revival,” initiated tests which were conducted by Skaggs Nutrition Laboratory at Utah State University and Food Products Laboratory in Portland, OR; data and
graphs are available in the August/September 2005 issue of the magazine or at the Mother Earth News Web site, www.MotherEarthNews.com/eggs. “Other studies also have shown similar results for some of these nutrients, but the industry actively denies that free-range systems produce better eggs,” says Mother Earth News editor-in-chief Cheryl Long. The Mother Earth News article reports that the American Egg Board Web site (www.aeb.org) claims that free-range conditions do not result in a better diet for the hens and more nutritious eggs: “But we have assembled evidence that this claim is untrue, and we’ve asked the Egg Board to correct the statement on their Web site.” “Inferior eggs are not the only problem that has developed because the push for cheap food has gone too
The eggs from chickens raised on free range were much more nutritious — up to twice as rich in vitamin E, up to six times richer in beta carotene.
get local, free range eggs at your
CO-OP
september 2005
far,” Long says. “A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition has revealed that the nutrient content of conventionally grown vegetables and fruits has declined over the past 50 years. The study compared USDA data from 1950 and 1999 for 13 nutrients in 43 crops. After rigorous statistical analysis, the researchers found that, on average, all three minerals evaluated have declined; two of five vitamins have declined; and protein content has dropped by 6 percent.” Also, there is growing evidence that produce grown with synthetic fertilizers is less nutritious, mainly because it tends to contain more water than produce grown with natural, organic fertilizers. For more information see the June/July 2004 arti-
cle at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Whole_Foods_ and_Cooking/ 2004_June_July/Is_Agribusiness_Making_Food_Less_Nutritious_. Meat and dairy products show nutrient differences similar to those reported above for eggs. Products from animals raised on natural pasture diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and higher in vitamins and other essential nutrients than products from animals raised in confinement on high-grain diets. For more information see the April/May 2002 article at www.MotherEarthNews.com/Whole_ Foods_and_Cooking/2002_April_May/Pasture_Perfect. Both mad cow disease and E. Coli food poisoning problems are consequences of intensive confinement beef production systems. Mad cow disease is the result of mixing infected animal “by-products” into feed given to feedlot cattle. And the emergence of highly toxic forms of e. coli bacteria has been linked to the practice of feeding cattle unnatural high-grain diets. This accumulating evidence that intensive industrial agriculture is delivering inferior food is pushing many consumers to seek local, organic, grass-fed and free-range products. The USDA reports farmers’ markets have increased more than 80 percent from 1994. “There’s a Real Food Revival underway in the U.S. and it’s providing safer, more nutritious and better tasting food to consumers and new opportunities for small farmers,” Long says. The August/September 2005 issue of Mother Earth News features the cover story, “Join the Real Food Revival.” To read this article, go to www.MotherEarthNews.com/library/2005_August_September/ Join_the_Real_Food_Revival. Since 1970, Mother Earth News magazine, the original guide to living wisely, has inspired millions of consumers with ideas and information on real food and the lifestyle of green living. Mother Earth News is owned by Ogden Publications, who publishes eight other magazine titles in Topeka, Kansas. Mother Earth News is available on magazine racks at your Coop in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Contact them at 785-274-4319 clong@MotherEarthNews.com, or 785-274-4320 unewbury@ Mother EarthNews.com Mother Earth News: 1503 SW 42nd, Topeka, KS 66609 (866) 600-4588.
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