Save the Date!

NODPA’s Field Days will be held this fall, Thursday and Friday, October 7 and 8 at the MOFGA Fairgrounds in Unity, Maine.

We are giving you plenty of notice this time so you can plan to attend if at all possible. As usual, it will be a mixed program but centered on what is relevant to producers in this new decade and, as usual plenty of good food and conversation. There will be an in-person meeting of the Board and State reps and any other interested producers before the Field Days to review the past year and to plan for 2011 and forward. If you have interest and concerns about NODPA’s future, please plan to attend this meeting and the producer meeting at Field Days.

Added February 1, 2010:

Keyline plow article sparks discussion
Added February 1, 2010. An article in our January newsletter on the Keyline Plow and its role in soil building has spurred some lively discussion on the NODPA-Odairy discussion list. Click here to read the article by March Krawczyk ... and click here to visit the NODPA-Odairy archives at to follow the thread of conversation that has been happening so far. (If you're registered on O-Dairy, you'll need to log in, then, under "List Name," select ODAIRY. You'll see a list of months. Click on the most recent. If you're not registered on ODairy, go to the listserv page on our web site. There are instructions there for joining, as well as printable instructions.)

Pastureland Cooperative Interviews NODPA Director
Added February 1, 2010. Pastureland Cooperative interviewed Ed Maltby on the proposed new pasture rule. To read the interview, go to:  

http://www.pastureland.coop/Ed+Maltby

Successful Vermont Organic Dairy Farmer Must Sell 200 Cow Farm Because Of Health Issues
Added January 25, 2010. Click here to learn more about this opportunity.

Homeopathy: The Mechanics and Its
Application for the Dairy Farm, Part 1
Added February 1, 2010. Of the therapeutic options available to the organic dairy, homeopathy stands alone in its elegance and simplicity. MORE >

Organic dairy farmers win
Good Farm Neighbor Award
Added February 1, 2010. Organic dairy farmers Joe and Tom Molitor have been named the December winners of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's (MDA) Good Farm Neighbor Award. More >

Announcement of Position Available
Added February 1, 2010. Organic Dairy Production and Management, Assistant/Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science.
Learn more >

Crop Rotation on Organic Farms:
A Planning Manual

Added February 1, 2010. “Crop Rotation on Organic Farms: A Planning Manual” provides an in-depth review of the applications of crop rotation-including improving soil quality and health, and managing pests, diseases, and weeds.
Learn more >

Resources for the Pasture Rule
In anticipation of the new rule, NODPA has created a Pasture Rule Web Page so that Producers, Certifiers and other Professionals can prepare for a pasture rule that has some teeth in it. The page includes historical documents such as the FOOD Farmers Access to Pasture Recommended Standards (August, 2007), and NODPA's complete Pasture Rule Comments (submitted to the NOP in December 2008). Also on this page you will find useful documents on dry matter calculations, record keeping worksheets for pasture consumption, Organic System Plan (OSP) documentation already being used by Vermont Organic Farmers, LLC (VOF), and more. We will continue to post resources and links as they are made available to us and will update the page regularly with pertinent information.
Click here to visit the resource page.


Added January 11, 2010:

Organic Pay Price

Added January 11, 2010. The full effect of the downturn in demand for organic dairy is being felt by all producers, with no one under the illusion that the situation will improve quickly. Consumer demand is still slightly negative, although there are regional and seasonal fluctuations in sales of fluid milk on a monthly basis; there are only two national buyers for wholesale organic milk; many producers are on short contracts; pay price has dropped; and smaller independent handlers and cooperatives are making difficult decisions about their futur;. Many well established organic dairies that have a good history of working with their processor will have a reasonable year financially but there will be many that have to make difficult personal and professional choices with limited options in 2010. The principal challenges for organic dairy are to manage supply, based on modest and reasonable growth and to balance production by growing a diverse number of organic dairy products rather than relying on the non-organic market to balance any surplus. Organic milk is now a commodity in search of a secure market, with all the problems of a commodity that we know so well from the non-organic milk market. MORE DETAILS>

Organic Feed Summary

Added January 11, 2010. The weather has had a considerable effect on the harvesting as the Midwest has been subjected to wet weather followed by heavy snow storms. With prices at their lowest point in the last two years and very little grain and feedstuff being traded on the organic market, producers are waiting to see what the New Year brings. Wheat trade is at a near standstill and there are confirmed cases of wheat affected with vomitoxin and sprouting in the eastern states. Corn has had some low test weights as the harvest has progressed. MORE DETAILS >

Upcoming Winter Conferences
Added January 11, 2010. Winter time is a great time of year to plan for the coming growing season, network with fellow producers and go to meetings or conferences. We have compiled dairy workshop highlights taking place at some of the more popular winter conferences in the Midwest and the Northeast. For many of these, it is common to tape record the sessions, so if you cannot make it to these events, perhaps you can get a dvd or audio recording of some of these interesting workshops. Learn more >

Recent Discussions On ODairy
Added January 11, 2010. Calf blankets, round bale unrollers, lamnitis, drug treatments in milk, de-wormers, rescuing a hypothermic calf, the
milk-per-acre concept, linebreeding, and anaphylactic shock from vitamins. MORE >

Invaluable Dairy Handbook Just Released From NOFA-NY
Added January 11, 2010. Whether you are transitioning to organic, have been certified organic for years, or are a consultant providing services to organic dairy/transitioning dairy clients, The Organic Dairy Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Transition and Beyond is a wonderful resource. MORE >

Summary of Concerns Regarding A1 and A2 Milk and Dairy Breed Rankings
Added January 11, 2010. Questions and answers about milk rankings. Learn more >

Alfred State Picks Site for New Dairy
Added January 11, 2010. Alfred State College announced the site selected for its new facilities to teach dairy production. Learn more >

Added December 3, 2009

Producer Handler rule comment
period ends December 21
On October 21st, 2009, USDA issued a recommended decision that, if it becomes rule, would require producer-handlers marketing more than 3 million pounds of fluid milk products each month to be subject to the same pooling and pricing provisions as fully regulated handlers in all Federal Milk Marketing Orders. Currently, all producer-handlers are exempt. If this USDA recommended decision comes to fruition as rule, it has potential to have an impact on the organic dairy marketplace. For more information click here to read Kathie Arnolds article.

At the USDA, What Does Change Mean?
For the first time, advocates can lobby for real change in one sector of the market; organic and sustainable agriculture - and get an ear at the highest levels of the USDA, says Sam Fromartz. MORE >

Promiseland's Organic
Certification Revoked for 4 Years
The USDA Administrative Law Judge supported NOP’s revocation of one of the largest organic livestock and grain operations, Promiseland Livestock, LLC. The judge ruled that they would lose their organic certification for 4 years for failure to supply documentation to back up their organic certification. Click here to download the judgment.

Problems with the "natural" label
The Federation of Organic Dairy Farmers (FOOD Farmers), the umbrella group for organic dairy producers across the country, is concerned about the misleading of consumers by labeling and packaging of dairy products, particularly "natural" labeling. Click here to download the FOOD Farmers press release on the topic.

Research Updates

Sustainable Farm Educators. Northeast SARE periodically looks around the region for articulate, skilled farmers who can go to workshops and conferences that address issues important to other farmers. Could you be one?
Learn more >

Udder Health and Milk Quality on Organic Dairy Farms. The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont and the Vermont Veterinary Medical Association combined energies this past October to provide a workshop for veterinarians covering the National Organic Program’s certification standards for organic livestock production systems with a focus on udder health and milk quality.
MORE >

UNH Welcomes Dr. André F. Brito. The University of New Hampshire has recently added a new staff person to their Organic Dairy Management Team. Learn more about him.

5 Ways You Can Support NODPA
Eight and a half years ago NODPA was formed in response to a threat of a drop in milk price. In 2009 NODPA is the only organization whose mission is to represent the interest of organic dairy producers no matter who they sell their milk to.

Click here for a summary of the many ways you can support NODPA and the farmers it represents.

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