Organic Valley/Organic Prairie --- Anyone?

[Terry W]

Anyone here have experience dealing with Organic Valley/ Organic Prairie as far as milk and beef production?n I attended an informational meeting Wednesday on the Dairy aspect-I thought I had linked to their site for beef production from an "ad" here on HT at some point. I ask because I am going to be buying land real soon, and intend to be even more stringent than the NOP requires. Though I will not have the numbers of cattle that they would be looking for on one farm, I will be able to supplement a neighbors herd of Dairy cattle... And if they ever get into goat milk, I will already have a system in place...

TIA Terry Who is going to walk the property AGAIN today, to see how the rain actually runs off of it...

[LMonty]

I was looking forward to seeing answers to your questions, Terry. Ive looked at their site and wondered about it too. I 'm in the same spot- in the market for our homestead, and wondering which way to go with our intended cattle project. Will organic certification be a niche added value market that will in the long run make our system more profitable? Is a relationship with a coop better than direct marketing?

Terry, how many animals did they expect an entry level producer to supply? I doubt I'd get anywhere near it for a few years, but I am curious.

[Terry W]

Hmm, looks like not a lot of people deal with a market like this...
For the milking aspect, they want the dairy to be "grade A" which means a bulk tank is in order... And the total number of cows to be a minimum of about 400 on a route, to make it worthwhile to create a truck route to pick up the milk.
Everything in this area points to organic certification as a marketing advantage. Though one must be sure to remember that organic cert does not necessarily mean humane!! That is why OV wants a certain stocking level to not be exceeded by it's suppliers. I have tasted grass fed beef, and believe me, I found it more satisfying than the commercial feed lot stuff. Granted, totally grass fed means a longer time to slaughter weight, but ngood things come to those who wait, correct? The farm group I belong to as a market for fresh produce and local meat-- in the form of a local co-op in a nearby city. The Co-op is asking for more of the local grown products that the members of the group are providing.

I really want to only produce milk for myself, but I am open to beef production on a "more than I need" scale. There does seem to be a push, not from just the local farmers, but from consumers, to know where the food is coming from. I figure a CSA would be more than I want to handle alone, but I am OKAY with putting my product into the pool of stuff that goes to the city...