|
|
|
|
|
|
| Brazilian soybean group visits Illinois, U.S. farms |
|
|
|
| By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — With more American consumers leaning towards the purchase of organic milk at the supermarket these days, the USDA works hard to ensure that the milk labeled organic is actually organic.
To make certain federal organic regulations and requirements are being met by all organic dairies, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently placed a watchful eye on the Aurora Organic Dairy facility in Platteville, Colo., one of the largest organic dairy facilities in the country with over 4,000 dairy cows.
In an Aug. 29 news release, AMS announced that they entered into a consent agreement with Aurora in response to a Notice of Proposed Revocation issued earlier this year.
“The organic industry is booming and the National Organic Program is a high priority for USDA,” said Bruce I. Knight, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, “and through this consent agreement consumers can be assured that milk labeled as organic in the supermarket is indeed organic.”
The agreement is the result of an investigation triggered by formal complaints filed in 2005 and 2006 by The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy group. Cornucopia alleged the Aurora dairy violated numerous organic regulations listed under the National Organic Program.
Cornucopia’s allegations, much of which was confirmed by the USDA investigation, revealed that Aurora’s Platteville facility was overcrowding pastures; confining a majority of dairy animals to feedlots, as prohibited by federal organic regulations; bringing in conventional replacement animals not qualified to produce organic milk; and falsely selling and labeling milk as an organically produced product.
Under the strict new agreement with the USDA, Aurora’s Platteville operation must meet several conditions in order to continue to operate as a certified organic dairy facility. These conditions include removing specific animals from the organic herd and ceasing to apply the organic label to certain milk. Additionally, AMS will keep a close eye on the daily operations of Aurora’s business during a one-year probationary review period.
USDA officials said that if Aurora does not abide by the agreement during that time, AMS could revoke the organic certification for Aurora’s Platteville plant.
“While we are pleased that widespread changes to Aurora’s factory-farms have been ordered, we don’t think the USDA went far enough,” said Mark Kastel, senior farm analyst for Cornucopia. “We think Aurora should have been slapped with a significant fine for deliberately abusing organic integrity and consumer trust and for flooding the market with bogus organic milk.”
New plans for Aurora
Also, under terms of the consent agreement Aurora must file organic systems plans for its Platteville, Colo. and Dublin, Texas facilities. These new plans will address all of the inconsistencies between its operations and the NOP regulations identified in the Notice of Proposed Revocation.
Major adjustments required at Aurora’s Platteville, Colo. facility include: providing daily access to pasture during the growing season, acknowledging that lactation is not a reason to deny access to pasture; reducing the number of cows to a level consistent with available pasture with agreed maximum stocking densities; eliminating improperly transitioned cows from its herd and not marketing those cows’ milk as organic and agreeing to use the more stringent transition process in the NOP regulations for animals added to its dairy herd.
“We are very pleased with both the dismissal (of complaints) and the valuable input from USDA. This result allows us to accelerate the transformation of our Platteville organic dairy farm,” said Mark Retzloff, president and chief organic officer of Aurora. “Through cooperation with the USDA at all levels, we will remain focused on our mission of making high-quality organic milk and butter more affordable and available for American families.”
The company’s plan for redevelopment includes an increase in the amount of organic pasture acreage to approximately 400 acres, a significant decrease in the size of the farms’ organic dairy herd to about 1,250 cows. According to Retzloff, nearly 75 percent of the farm’s existing buildings and paddocks are currently being razed and converted to pasture.
As a result of the investigation, Aurora’s certifying agent, the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), also agreed to make several changes in its operation, including attending increased NOP training and hiring additional personnel.
This farm news was published in the Sept. 12, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 9/12/2007 |
|
|
