Posted: February 26, 2010 at 8:47 am
By John Davis
The USDA has issued the final rule on organic access to pasture. This rule amends the National Organic Program (NOP) regulations to clarify the use of pasture in raising organic ruminants.
USDA officials say the final rule provides certainty to consumers that organic livestock production is a pasture based system in which animals are actively grazing pasture during the grazing season. The majority of organic dairy and ruminant livestock producers are already grazing animals and maintaining pastures that meet the requirements of this rule. These standards contain clear requirements that will provide greater assurance that all producers are being held to the same standards.
This episode of the Milking Parlor podcast features Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan, laying out out the terms regarding the final rules and telling how this underlines the ag department’s commitment to organic agriculture.
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Posted: February 17, 2010 at 4:56 pm
By News Editor
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced details of the final regulation regarding access to pasture for organic livestock operations. This rule amends the National Organic Program (NOP) regulations to clarify the use of pasture in raising organic ruminants.
“Clear and enforceable standards are essential to the health and success of the market for organic agriculture,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The final rule published today will give consumers confidence that organic milk or cheese comes from cows raised on pasture, and organic family farmers the assurance that there is one, consistent pasture standard that applies to dairy products.”
The final rule provides certainty to consumers that organic livestock production is a pasture based system in which animals are actively grazing pasture during the grazing season. The majority of organic dairy and ruminant livestock producers are already grazing animals and maintaining pastures that meet the requirements of this rule. These standards contain clear requirements that will provide greater assurance that all producers are being held to the same standards.
This final rule is the culmination of a process that was initiated in 2005 when the National Organic Standards Board recommended that ruminants obtain a minimum 30 percent dry matter intake for at least 120 days. The proposed rule, published on Oct. 28, 2008, received over 26,000 comments from producers, retailers, handlers, certifying agents, consumers, trade associations, organic associations, animal welfare organizations, consumer groups, state and local government entities and various industry groups.
The main components of the rule include:
* Animals must graze pasture during the grazing season, which must be at least 120 days per year;
* Animals must obtain a minimum of 30 percent dry matter intake from grazing pasture during the grazing season;
* Producers must have a pasture management plan and manage pasture as a crop to meet the feed requirements for the grazing animals and to protect soil and water quality; and,
* Livestock are exempt from the 30 percent dry matter intake requirements during the finish feeding period, not to exceed 120 days. Livestock must have access to pasture during the finishing phase.
The final rule becomes effective 120 days after publication, June 17, 2010. Operations which are already certified organic will have one year to implement the provisions. Operations which obtain organic certification after the effective date will be expected to demonstrate full compliance.
Source: USDA
Posted: November 2, 2009 at 8:15 pm
By News Editor
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan has announced more than $19 million in grants have been awarded to universities across the country to solve critical organic agriculture issues through the integration of research, education and extension projects.
Merrigan announced the funding in Portland, Maine, and was joined by representatives from the University of Maine, the local grant recipient which is conducting research that will increase farmers’ capacity to produce high quality organic bread wheat. The announcement was made at Borealis Breads bakery where proprietor, Jim Amaral, benefits from the USDA funded research by using the locally produced organic bread wheat that meets the higher quality standards necessary for bread production. Supplying this expanding market for organic bread wheat represents a significant economic opportunity for this region’s farmers.
Launched in September 2009, the ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative emphasizes the need for a fundamental and critical reconnection between producers and consumers. ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ includes such major agricultural topics as supporting local farmers and community food groups; strengthening rural communities; enhancing direct marketing and farmers’ promotion programs; promoting healthy eating; protecting natural resources; and helping schools connect with locally grown foods.
Since the late 1990′s, U.S. organic production has more than doubled, but the consumer market has grown even faster. Organic food sales have more than quintupled, increasing from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $24.6 billion in 2008. More than two-thirds of U.S. consumers buy organic products at least occasionally, and 28 percent buy organic products weekly.
The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), funds projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who already have adopted organic standards to grow and market high-quality organic agricultural products. Meanwhile, the Integrated Organic and Water Quality Program funds projects that demonstrate benefits to soil and water availability posed by implementing certified organic practices. Projects combine physical measurements of soil and surface and/or groundwater conditions at the field or farm scale with modeling information generated at the same spatial and temporal scale.
Posted: October 27, 2009 at 12:17 pm
By Amanda Nolz
E.B. Solomont with the Mother Nature Network recently published an article titled, Dairy Farmers Launch Organic Brand, in The Olympian in Washington state. This is an exciting new brand of organic milk products featured by several dairy farmers in the state of Maine. Check it out!
In the annals of rural farming, 10 organic dairy farmers in Maine are showing entrepreneurial spirit in trying economic times: After their contracts with a major milk processor were abruptly canceled, the farmers will distribute and sell their own cows’ milk locally under the name MOOMilk, short for Maine’s Own Organic Milk Co. MOOMilk is set to hit stores in Maine and Massachusetts by early November, just 18 months after the farmers faced far bleaker prospects, according to the Bangor Daily News.
It all started when H.P. Hood Inc. axed the dairy farms from its organic line for economic reasons. Furious, the farmers urged the milk processor to reconsider, particularly since many converted to organic at Hood’s urging. Hood refused, but rather than fall prey to a ravaged economy, the farmers banded together to form a cooperative with investors, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine Farm Bureau and the Maine Department of Agriculture. With a price tag of $3.99 per half-gallon, the milk will be sold at standard organic prices and will take roughly 96 hours to get from the cow to the shelf.
Posted: July 13, 2009 at 11:52 pm
By Amanda Nolz
The Wisconsin Ag Connection recently reported about an upcoming rally to call attention to the struggles of the organic dairy farmer. Whether it be protests, dumping milk on the ground, debates, letters or phone calls, dairy farmers have been vocal in the last couple of months to try to communicate with government leaders and the media about the struggles of the dairy producer.
An organization representing organic dairy producers are hoping to get U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s attention this week when he visits Wisconsin by holding a ‘Save the Organic Family Dairy Farm Rally.’ The Cornucopia Institute is holding the event on July 16 at the La Crosse Interstate Fair in West Salem. It immediately precedes a town hall meeting on rural issues with Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The group claims that a glut of organic milk, fueled by giant factory farms, threatens to wash family farmers off their land.
“With the slowdown in the economy, the market is no longer able to absorb the growing supply of organic milk,” says Mark Kastel, senior farm policy analyst with The Cornucopia Institute. “Processors have now cut the price of milk for farmers, and imposed production caps. Many family farmers are now in danger of losing their farms.”
Posted: May 18, 2009 at 6:11 pm
By News Editor
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued draft rules for organic milk that would require that the cows be on pasture at least half the year and get plenty of fresh grass. The proposals are meant to close a loophole that has allowed some huge feedlots to sell their milk as organic, even though their cows rarely grazed on fresh grass. The public comment period on the draft rules runs through Dec. 23.
Advocates for family dairy farms and organic consumers say that’s not what shoppers think they are buying when they pay a premium for organic milk. Organic advocates are happy that the draft rules would require that organic cows be on pasture for at least 120 days out of the year, and that the animals get at least 30 percent of their dry matter intake from grazing during the growing season.
“Pretty much the entire organic community welcomes the long-overdue closing of loopholes for pasture and feed in the organic dairy regulations,” said Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association.
The Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute helped lead the charge, mainly against two companies: Aurora Organic Dairy, which produces private-label organic milk for national and local retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale Co., and Safeway Inc.; and Horizon Organic, the largest national organic dairy brand and a unit of Fort Worth, based-Dean Foods Co., the country’s largest dairy processor and distributor. The Minnesota-based Organic Consumers Association called for boycotts and spread the word to its hundreds of thousands of supporters via the Internet. Consumers filed class-action lawsuits.
Organic dairy products are a $2.7 billion industry, about 4 percent of all dairy products sold in 2006, according to the Organic Trade Association.
In the notice published in the Federal Register late last month, the Agriculture Department said consumers and others had made clear their feelings that organic cows should get their nutrition from grazing. In an earlier public comment round, only 28 of more than 80,500 comments were against tightening the rules.
The Agriculture Department also cited surveys conducted by Whole Foods Market Inc., Consumers Union, and the Natural Marketing Institute that found strong backing for requiring grazing for organic cows.
Posted: April 22, 2009 at 8:52 pm
By News Editor
Pennsylvania producers working to transition their conventional operations to certified organic farms may be eligible for help offsetting the costs of making the change, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff today.
The Path to Organic Program provides grants to farmers switching to certified organic production practices. The application deadline is July 31.
“The Path to Organic grants are a significant investment in agriculture, our state’s number one industry,” said Wolff. “When producers determine that a change is necessary to promote their products to particular markets or to implement particular management practices, the process can sometimes be long and the required investments can be daunting. Through programs like the Path to Organic, we can help producers make the transition and remain profitable into the future.”
The program also evaluates organic production practices as tools in improving soil health, protecting water quality, and gathering atmospheric carbon on a pilot basis outside of the traditional research environment. “Maintaining good soil health and high water quality is essential to keeping agriculture viable in Pennsylvania, and exploring the potential benefits of organic and other production practices is an important step in understanding how to achieve this goal,” said Wolff.
The Path to Organic program offers funding to eligible for-profit enterprises that produce farm commodities, including agricultural, horticultural, aquaculture, vegetable, fruit and floricultural products; livestock and meats; poultry and eggs; dairy products; nuts; mushrooms; honey products; and forest products.
Grant payments will not exceed $7,500 in a single calendar year or $30,000 in a four-year period and will reimburse participants for costs directly related to organic transition, including building, machinery and equipment, and operational costs.
Posted: April 8, 2009 at 9:56 pm
By News Editor
Dairy processor H.P. Hood has reduced its organic milk supply since late February by not renewing several Maine dairy producers contracts. Hood maintains that with the declining economy, the demand for organic milk has just not caught up with production, according to Hood spokeswoman Lynn Bohan.
“Due to a softening in organic milk sales triggered by the recent economic downturn, Hood has made this difficult decision,” Bohan said when the original cuts were announced. “Increased transportation costs also factored into Hood’s decision, as the raw organic milk procured in outlying areas must be shipped to the company’s processing plants.”
Last week, Bohan said she could not say how many producers have voluntarily agreed to a 15 percent cut in production and declined to discuss further contract eliminations.
In late February, Hood told eight Maine organic dairy farmers in Aroostook and Washington counties that their milk contracts would not be renewed. Hood then notified its remaining 14 contracted organic milk producers that they must cut their production this year by 15 percent.
Now, two major producers in central Maine also have been dropped by Hood: Richard Lary in Clinton, whose farm produces 11,000 pounds of milk every other day, and Mark McKusick in Dexter.
Both men have been outspoken against Hood’s practices, and Lary said Saturday he believes the pair are being punished by Hood for their active campaign against the production cuts.
For both conventional and organic milk, this spring is the worst of times for milk producers. Prices being paid for milk are way under the cost of production, back to Depression-era prices, farmers say. Because organic farmers are paid premiums for their milk, reverting to conventional will mean a massive pay cut for any organic farmer making the switch. Conventional farmers are paid about half what organic farmers get for their milk.
There are 72 farms in Maine that produce organic milk. Some sell to processors such as Hood, Organic Valley and Horizon Cooperative. Others sell to local markets, off-farm and through community-supported agriculture shares, in which consumers purchase shares in a farm’s coming harvest. Hood ships Maine’s organic milk to New York to be processed and packaged, then returns it to Maine, where it is sold as Stonyfield Farm Organic Milk.
Meanwhile, Maine’s dairy supporters — the Maine Department of Agriculture, Maine Farm Bureau, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Downeast Business Alliance and others — are working together on a solution.
David Bright of the MFB Marketing Committee said a $90,500 emergency grant was submitted to the USDA last week to conduct a study of options and come up with a plan that would structure a statewide distribution system. This system would allow organic dairy farmers in Washington and Aroostook counties to move their milk — as a Maine-branded product — into grocery stores across the state.
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Posted: April 6, 2009 at 6:57 pm
By News Editor
The U.S. and Canada have agreed to finalize negotiations on organic equivalency standards between the countries by this summer, according to the Organic Trade Association.
Until now, Canada has had a hotchpotch of different voluntary and mandatory organic certification in place in different provinces across the country. The new Organic Products Regulations, due to be implemented on June 30, will require all Canadian organic products to be endorsed by a certification body accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The rules were designed to create a nationwide standard for Canadian products, but raised fears that products that were previously accepted as organic from other countries including the US could be shut out if they did not comply.
The USDA’s final rule on national organic standards was fully implemented in October 2002 and is slightly different from the new Canadian regulation.
Deputy administrator in charge of the National Organic Program at the USDA Barbara Robinson said at a conference last week that the two governments’ intention is to reach an agreement before the introduction of the new rules for Canadian organic produce. This would ensure that trade could continue uninterrupted.
In response to the announcement, managing director of the OTA in Canada Matthew Holmes said: “Canadian consumers will definitely benefit from this, and will continue to enjoy quality year-round organic products from the United States. At the same time, Canadian farmers and manufacturers will be able to certify to our organic standards without having to take on additional, redundant certifications to sell into the United States – so everybody wins.”
The first draft of Canada’s new regulations, brought forward in 2006, raised concerns over possible restrictions on imports and exports of organic foods due to a lack of allowance for equivalency between countries’ certification procedures.
The new version has been designed to bring Canadian requirements for organic certification in line with those of its major trading partners in Europe and the US, as well as to protect consumers.
However, there are still some differences between American and Canadian organic regulations that need to be ironed out. For example, some US organic farms allow the use of sodium nitrate in the soil, while it is not permitted on Canadian organic farms.
The OTA partnered with government in order to produce and revise the regulations, and has been working with growers and manufacturers of organic products for the past year and a half in order to adjust organic standards in time for the new regulation.
From June, products that contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients will be eligible for organic certification in Canada but those containing 70 to 95 percent organic ingredients will have to carry additional information on the product label identifying the percentage of each organic ingredient.
Those products that contain less than 70 percent organic ingredients will be restricted to making organic claims on the ingredient list.
The organic products industry is the fastest growing sector of Canadian agriculture, with annual growth of 15 to 20 percent over the past decade, according to the Canadian Food and Drug Law Institute.
Meanwhile, the organic sector in the US is forecast to experience “slowing but steady growth” of 19 percent to 2013, according to market research organization Mintel.
Posted: November 19, 2008 at 5:10 pm
By News Editor
Perry’s Ice Cream, based in Akron, N.Y. is going green with the introduction of Perry’s Organic Ice Cream line. Starting this month, vanilla and chocolate organic ice cream will be available in retail stores across western N.Y.
Perry’s organic ice creams are carefully crafted, one batch at a time to give consumers all the creaminess and taste you would expect from Perry’s with all natural, USDA approved organic ingredients.
“The introduction of an organic ice cream line demonstrates Perry’s commitment to creating delicious, wholesome products to fit a variety of consumer lifestyles, ” said Michael Brown, Senior Product Manager, Perry’s Ice Cream. “Our organic ice creams fit into the larger move to organic foods and locally sourced produce,” said Brown.
Perry’s products are made with milk and cream from local dairy farmers for the freshest ice cream you can buy.
Posted: November 11, 2008 at 7:00 pm
By News Editor
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed stricter grazing standards for cows certified to produce organic dairy products, increasing grazing days to at 120 days a year. Also, thirty percent of the cows’ feed must be from such grazing, rather than being fed organically produced food in a feedlot or an indoor facility.
The change, eight years in the making, is significant because consumers pay up to twice as much for organic milk, whose sales are growing but are only about 6 percent of the $17 billion spent annually on milk.
There are about 1,800 dairies with some 87,000 organic dairy cows in the United States, more than 93 percent of them small operations in the Northeast or Midwest, according to the 26-page proposal. Though only 7 percent of the farms are in the West, they account for a third of the production.
Some organic supporters, led by the Cornucopia Institute, an organic advocacy organization, said that industrial-size dairies that supply some of the country’s largest retailers with private-label brand organic milk were skirting the standards. That let the companies lower production costs and gain an unfair advantage over smaller producers..
The agency is taking comments on the proposal until Dec. 23. A preliminary proposal on stricter grazing requirements in 2006 attracted about 250 comments from consumers, trade groups, retailers and producers.
Though the proposal addresses the “access-to-pasture” problem, some organic farmers say they worry that new issues may slow progress on the rule. For the first time, the agency says it is considering adding bees and aquatic species as organic “livestock.” And it includes provisions about beef cattle and whether non-organic heifers can continue to be used as replacements in a herd.
Barbara Robinson, who oversees the National Organic Program at USDA, said the proposal is expansive because the agency wanted to lay out as many options as possible for the organic industry.
Posted: October 21, 2008 at 8:23 pm
By News Editor
Stremicks Heritage Foods has been named the recipient of the #1 Tasting Organic Milk in America award, bestowed by the prestigious American Masters of Taste. Headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., the company operates in Santa Ana and Riverside, Calif.; Cedar City, Utah; Joplin, Missouri and Mexicali, Mexico.
Judged against other national organic milk products, Heritage Foods Organic Milk was selected as the winning product in the organic milk category for its superior taste in each of its varieties — Reduced Fat
2%, Low Fat 1%, Fat Free and Whole Milk Homogenized Milk. The judging was conducted by a panel of Masters of Taste executive chefs in a triple-blind taste test in Northern California. The Chef du Jury of this judging panel was famed Jesse Sartain, the founder and national director of the American
Masters of Taste and the Chefs In America Awards Foundation. Sartain also is a culinary winner of the Maitre du Gout award; the James Beard Foundation award; the Maitre Canardier de France award; and the Les Toques Blanches, Global and World Gourmet Society Hall of Fame award.
The protocols of triple-blind judging include several ground rules to ensure accurate and fair results. As an example, evaluators do not know the product’s manufacturer, its variety or appellation. In addition,
the judges do not know the scores and comments of other evaluators.
Posted: September 23, 2008 at 4:21 pm
By News Editor
Joseph D. Rosen, Ph.D., emeritus professor of Food Toxicology at Rutgers University and a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has released a new paper that he claims has debunked attempts by organic agriculture to prove that organically grown crops are nutritionally superior to conventional ones. His research can be found here.
Dr. Rosen analyzed a pro-organic report by Charles Benbrook and colleagues at the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Center and found the data had been selectively chosen and presented to “prove” the desired point. Dr. Rosen’s report, Claims of Organic Food’s Nutritional Superiority: A Critical Review, was published today by ACSH.
In the original pro-organic paper, Benbrook and colleagues had stated that organic produce is 25% “more nutritious” than that produced by conventional agricultural practices. But when Dr. Rosen actually recalculated some of their data, correcting several inaccuracies, he concluded that the conventional products were actually 2% more nutritious than the organic varieties:
The Benbrook paper had claimed that organically grown vegetables had much more quercetrin (a precursor of the antioxidant quercetin) than conventional varieties. But the organic vegetables studied had been sprayed with an organic pesticide that greatly increases plants’ production of quercetrin — so of course they beat the conventional plants on that measure.
Dr. Rosen also points out that the organic proponents included data of dubious validity in their review. They used data from articles that were not peer-reviewed, and in one case included nutrient content from an analysis of whole kiwi fruits — both the inedible skin and the edible pulp, though this is not what the consumer would eat.
Dr. Rosen’s analysis demonstrates how organic proponents have, once again, used misleading and inappropriately-evaluated data to support their agenda. More details on Rosen’s own methods and conclusions may be found here.
Posted: July 16, 2008 at 7:51 pm
By News Editor
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA) has introduced an organic whipped butter manufactured by Keller’s Creamery, a division of DFA. Label under the name Breakstone’s®, the new product will be available at 21 grocery store chains in seven states east of the Mississippi – Alabama, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
DFA introduced the new product in response to the rising interest in organic foods. According to market research, organic butter sales increased 26 percent last year alone and have increased by more than 200 percent since 2003.
Breakstone’s organic whipped butter also is kosher certified. Kosher food is prepared according to Jewish dietary laws. Certification agencies examine the ingredients used to make the food, supervise the process by which the food is prepared, and periodically inspect the processing facilities to make sure that kosher standards are maintained.
Posted: June 11, 2008 at 5:22 pm
By Laura McNamara
Milk from Lifeway Foods is now garaunteed to be 100 percent, certified rBST free. The makers of the probiotic dairy beverage called kefir has announced they are now using milk that comes from cows that are not treated with hormones.
This 100% certified hormone free milk comes with a Farmers Pledge, which Lifeway will market on the labels of its products. This change came as a response to a growing demand for hormone and antibiotic milk by customers.
Julie Smolyansky, CEO said “Previously the milk we offered was hormone and antibiotic free, however, we now have a Farmer’s Pledge that certifies the milk is hormone free. We think this added benefit will continue to help us reach a wider group of health conscious consumers.”
Lifeway is self-described as America’s leading supplier of the cultured dairy produc kefir and the country’s largest supplier of Organic Kefir.
Posted: February 1, 2008 at 5:47 pm
By News Editor
The New York Agricultural Land Trust (NYALT) has two new supporters in its bid to protect N.Y. agricultural land for future generations. New York’s Byrne Dairy, has teamed up with Organic Valley, to help NYALT create a Web site, publish educational brochures and communicate the organizations message.
NYALT, established this year as a nonprofit organization, is already working toward protecting 11 farms in central New York, including five farms from its 2006 round of funding, and six farms that were announced at the end of 2007. This effort will result in the preservation of more than 5,500 acres, according to the group.
Funding from Byrne Dairy and Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic farmers cooperative, will enable NYALT to create a Web site and printed materials for educating landowners and municipal officials about protecting farmland, as well as help the land trust communicate with farm families interested in conserving their land.
“As word gets out that NYALT is helping to protect farmland, increasing numbers of farmers are contacting NYALT to gain a better understanding of what land conservation entails and how a partnership with NYALT might work. This generous support from Byrne Dairy and Organic Valley will help us get farmers the answers they need,” stated Maureen Knapp, NYALT board of directors’ president and an Organic Valley farmer.
This partnership is a natural fit for both Byrne Dairy and Organic Valley, as the two companies recently partnered to package the Organic Valley brand of milk products in the Byrne Dairy plant, located in Syracuse. Both companies depend on the steady stream of milk currently produced on the family-owned farms in Central New York.
Posted: January 11, 2008 at 10:05 pm
By News Editor
Colorado based Aurora Organic Dairy, has announced a partnership with the University of Michigan to measure and reduce its company’s carbon footprint. The reduction of energy and material use will be across the entire product lifecycle, from cattle feed to cartons in retail dairy cases.
Aurora Organic Dairy Foundation, a new not-for-profit organization formed to fund research, market-development initiatives and community-building activities benefiting organic agriculture, will foot the bill for the initiative.
The foundation’s first grant of more than $320,000 will fund a long-term research partnership with the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment. The center will conduct lifecycle and sustainability research at Aurora Organic Dairy’s facilities, including its High Plains organic dairy farm near Platteville and its Coldwater organic dairy farms in Texas.
The study will identify the current carbon footprint of the operations and then seek to improve Aurora Organic’s sustainability performance by adjusting energy supply and demand options, non fuel-related carbon emissions, and energy and greenhouse gases from material resources such as packaging.
Posted: October 18, 2007 at 7:27 pm
By News Editor
I can’t wait to see the results of this contest – the Stonyfield Farm YoBaby Cover Contest. Starting July 15, the organic yogurt company received 44,000 entries for the face that will convey the YoBaby image of healthy goodness. You can help pick the winner for the eight finalists – be sure to cast your vote before October 21st! These baby faces will be sure to make you say, “Awww! How cute!”
Four finalists from each category have been chosen and posted on the website for the public to choose from. The contest entires can be seen on the front page of YoBabyYogurt.com. The final entries will be posted sometime Oct. 15, so be sure to keep checking in every now and again throughout the day. Once voting starts, elimination begins, the final day to cast your votes is Oct. 21. Hurry up and get your votes counted.
The Stonyfield Farm YoBaby Cover Contest will have two grand prize winners, one from each category of the 6-12 months, and the toddlers, 13-24 months. Each grand prize winner will receive a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond, childhood portraits from The Picture People, and a fabulous trip to San Fransisco for a photo shoot of a lifetime with all expenses paid.
The Stonyfield Farm President released a statement on the day the contest began which said, “We’re looking for faces that convey the YoBaby image of healthy goodness along with the child’s inner beauty and unique personality,” he also adds “Sure, that’s a tall order, but we’re looking forward to ‘meeting’ babies and toddlers whose innocence and twinkle will bring a smile.”
Posted: September 7, 2007 at 10:41 am
By News Editor
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the availability of $1 million to defray annual organic certification costs in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
This funding is particularly important to smaller producers so that they can meet the voluntary uniform standards set forth by the National Organic Program regulations for the production of organic products that are to be labeled as “100 percent organic,” “organic” or “made with organic ingredients.”
The Agricultural Management Assistance Program, authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524); will allocate funds to the 15 states in proportion to the number of organic producers in each state. The states, in turn, will reimburse each eligible producer for up to 75 percent of its organic certification costs, not to exceed $500. Each state is allowed to retain 4 percent of the total amount granted as an administration fee.
This program is in addition to and separate from the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program, which also is administered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The National program, part of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, received one-time funding of $5 million, which was obligated to participating states through cooperative agreements.
In order to be eligible for reimbursement, an organic production operation must be located within one of the 15 designated states, meet the USDA national organic standards for organic production, and have received certification or update of certification by a USDA-accredited certifying agent during the period of Oct. 1, 2007, through Sept. 30, 2008.
Posted: August 21, 2007 at 6:00 pm
By News Editor
A few weeks ago, Jackie Avner from the Denver Post wrote an editorial about her reasons for buying regular goods verses organic goods. Take a minute and read her thoughts and comments on the booming organic market.
I don’t like to buy organic food products, and avoid them at all cost. It is a principled decision reached through careful consideration of effects of organic production practices on animal welfare and the environment. I buy regular food, rather than organic, for the benefit of my family.
I care deeply about food being plentiful, affordable and safe. I grew up on a dairy farm, where my chores included caring for the calves and scrubbing the milking facilities. As a teenager, I was active in Future Farmers of America, and after college I took a job in Washington, D.C., on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee staff.
But America no longer has an agrarian economy, and now it is rare for people to have firsthand experience with agricultural production and regulation. This makes the general public highly susceptible to rumors and myths about food, and vulnerable to misleading marketing tactics designed not to improve the safety of the food supply, but to increase retail profits. Companies marketing organic products, and your local grocery chain, want you to think organic food is safer and healthier, because their profit margins are vastly higher on organic foods.
The USDA Organic label does not mean that there is any difference between organic and regular food products. Organic farms simply employ different methods of food production. For example, organic dairy farms are not permitted to administer antibiotics to their sick or injured cows, and do not give them milk-stimulating hormone supplements (also known as rbGH or rBST). The end product is exactly the same – all milk, regular and organic, is completely antibiotic-free, and all milk, regular and organic, has the same trace amounts of rbGH (since rbGH is a protein naturally present in all cows, including organic herds). Try as they may, proponents of organic foods have not been able to produce evidence that the food produced by conventional farms is anything but safe.
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