Is Organic Dairying for Me?

Experienced organic dairy farmers discussed their operations at the recent Minnesota Organic Conference in St. Cloud. To the surprise of many in attendance, they described relatively few problems with managing the herd compared to managing soils and weeds on their organic acres. One major piece of advice was to certify land gradually as rotations, weeds and soil balance come into line. Certification of land is a three-year process that starts with the development of an organic plan. Certification of the dairy herd takes one year. Before embarking on an organic adventure, ask yourself the following to help you determine, “Is organic right for me and my dairy operation?”

     * Does your life revolve around production volume? Or does your sense of pride/satisfaction come
       from some other outcome? Organic farms often have lower yields but measure their success by
       profit, or a reward or working with natural systems.

     * Are you willing to expand your genetics beyond production to other considerations or are you a
       registered cattle operation that likes to show cattle? Many organic farmers have opted for hardier
       but not-so-fancy, multicolored crossbred cattle.

     * Are you willing to pasture your animals? The use of management intensive rotational grazing is
       NOT required, but "access to pasture" is a requirement for organic certification. In the future,
       "access" may be beefed up to require that a given amount of dry matter intake must come from
       pasture during the growing season. Some organic buyers already require a certain pasture intake.

     * Do you like hands-on management, puzzle- and problem-solving? Organic dairying does not rely on
       many of the tools (antibiotics, crop chemicals, hormones) that are commonplace in conventional
       dairying. Organic management systems need to be flexible and site-specific.

     * If you have hired labor, are they trainable and compliant? Do you consider yourself flexible and
       trainable? Maybe that is a question your spouse needs to answer about you. Organic requires
       different approaches that may be very different from your experience or educational training.

     * Can/will you grow organic feed OR are you willing to buy certified organic feed? Converting
       cropland may be a bigger challenge than transitioning the herd. Expect to pay a premium for
       purchased organic feed. Most organic dairies emphasize forage; a few feed forage only.

     * Can you afford the cost of transition (e.g., cash flow, economic position, etc.)? During the
       transition year, most of the costs of organic production will be in place, including some drop in
       production, but you will be paid conventional prices. However, organic dairies can produce good
       quantities of milk—most range from 12,000 to 19,000 lb of milk per cow.

     * Do you have a willing buyer? Before starting the transition, you should check on potential buyers
       for your product. For the present that isn’t a problem in many areas, with processors scrambling
       to meet demand. But don’t assume the market will keep coming to you.

     * Does your veterinarian know about health care practices suitable for organic livestock, or is
       he/she willing to learn? You will need professional support for herd health and other management
       requirements.

     * How do you feel about record keeping? You will need to develop a written organic plan for
       evaluation by a certifying agency and be open to inspection of your records and your farm
       management.

Many of you will say “Well, maybe”, some will say “absolutely”, and some will say “no way” to the questions above. Organic is a viable dairy management system for many farmers. We are fortunate that dairying in the upper Midwest can be accomplished with a variety of management systems and markets are not yet too limited in most locations.

By Dennis Johnson (Dairy Production Systems, WCROC, Morris) and Meg Moynihan (Organic and Diversification Specialist, Minnesota Department of Agriculture)
Dairy Connection Articles - University of Minnesota Extension

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Is Organic Dairying for Me?