Organic Valley has offered to purchase milk from as many as 90 organic farmers whose previous contracts with Horizon Organic and Maple Hill will soon be terminated.
Founded in 1988, Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative, has extended its hand making the single largest effort to save small organic family farms in the Northeast through a letter of intent.
Dozens of the farms that received offers are located in Vermont, according to a statement from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. One family that received this offer resides in Cornith.
Osgood Family Farms milk 30 cows and second-generation dairy farmer, George Osgood shares that his family began farming this land more than 65 years ago.
“I’m glad to partner with Organic Valley to continue our family farm,” he said in a statement. “A cooperative owned by small family farms is the perfect fit for us. It gives us the chance to keep doing what we love.”
As dairies from all over the U.S. continue to lose family farms through consolidation and industrialization over the past decade, states like Vermont have certainly felt the pain.
Earlier when Horizon announced it would pull its contracts with 89 farmers in the Northeast, many of those farmers said they didn’t know if they would survive the blow. Maple Hill announced plans to terminate contracts with an additional 46 organic farmers in New York.
“We are the only national brand still fighting for small family farms because we know that the best quality food is ethically sourced from small family farms,” Bob Kirchoff, Organic Valley CEO says.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., expressed gratitude toward the company.
“While this is terrific news for these farm families, challenges still remain for the organic dairy industry, and I will continue to work, along with others who support organic dairy to help find, or create, new markets for organic milk,” he said in a statement.
Organic Valley plans to release more information on efforts to provide hope to small family farms in the Northeast, as well as across the U.S. in the coming weeks and months.
