Producing Milk Organically

Organic Dairy Producers Increase Profits

To answer producer questions about organic dairying, the project studies the economics of transitioning from conventional dairy farming. Photo by Valerie Berton

Vermont organic dairies boosted theirprofitability and more farms are joining their ranks, thanks inpart to a SARE-supported study answering farmer questions aboutproducing milk organically. Market demand--in 1997,Vermont’s Organic Cow dairy paid $18 per hundredweight ofmilk, nearly $6 more than conventionally produced milk--hassparked producer interest in organic production. The projectfeatures case studies of eight organic and transitioning farms,comparing such diverse factors as economics, milk quality andherd health in a whole-farm system approach. Dairy producers whohave adopted some project recommendations—such as usingmanagement-intensive grazing, feeding high-quality forages andreplacing commercial fertilizers with green manure--have seenprofitability soar. At one farm, profits climbed 40 percent overthe three project years as the farmers improved management andreduced expenses. At another organic operation, the cost ofproducing milk dropped by $5,000 over the three years. A thirdfarm increased gross income from $125,000 to $165,000, cuttingits debt-to-cow ratio in half. Because the project emphasizesoutreach, it assisted many farmers beyond the study group.(LNE93-39)

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