SARE 1998 Highlights

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 their profitability and more farms are joining their ranks, thanks in part to a SARE-supported study answering farmer questions about producing milk organically. Market demand--in 1997, Vermont’s Organic Cow dairy paid $18 per hundredweight of milk, nearly $6 more than conventionally produced milk--has sparked producer interest in organic production. The project features case studies of eight organic and transitioning farms, comparing such diverse factors as economics, milk quality and herd health in a whole-farm system approach. Dairy producers who have adopted some project recommendations—such as using management-intensive grazing, feeding high-quality forages and replacing commercial fertilizers with green manure--have seen profitability soar. At one farm, profits climbed 40 percent over the three project years as the farmers improved management and reduced expenses. At another organic operation, the cost of producing milk dropped by $5,000 over the three years. A third farm increased gross income from $125,000 to $165,000, cutting its debt-to-cow ratio in half. Because the project emphasizes outreach, it assisted many farmers beyond the study group. (LNE93-39)

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