Organic Farming

Organic Dairy Groups File Lawsuits Over Federal Milk Pricing System

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:54:05 GMT

Organic dairy farmers are challenging their required participation in the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program through a series of federal lawsuits, arguing the system does not reflect how organic milk is produced or marketed.

Members of the Coalition for Organic Dairy Exemption (CODE), including Aurora Organic Dairy , Horizon Organic Dairy and CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley , have recently filed three federal court actions questioning the constitutionality of including organic milk in FMMOs. A separate class action claim seeks compensation for payments farmers say were collected over the past six years without providing a return.

At the center of the filings is a request to exempt organic dairy from the FMMO system, rather than dismantle the program entirely.

“The federal government has locked in an updated dairy pricing regulation that actively harms organic dairy farmers,” says Elvin Ranck, an organic dairy farmer plaintiff from Pennsylvania. “It systematically siphons revenue generated from organic dairy sales and redistributes it to non-organic dairy producers and their partners.

He continues: “This is effectively a government taking. CROPP Cooperative, of which I am an owner-member, pays millions of dollars each year into the Federal Milk Marketing Order pools, yet those dollars never return to organic farmers like me, and under the current system, they never will. At some point, we have to stand up for ourselves.”

Separate Supply Chains, Shared Pricing Rules

The lawsuits argue organic and conventional milk are treated the same under FMMO pricing and pooling rules, even though they operate under different production systems.

Organic milk cannot be intermingled with conventional milk under federal regulations and typically moves through separate supply chains. Organic production also comes with higher feed, certification and handling costs, along with additional processing requirements.

While organic milk represents about 3% of total U.S. milk production, it accounts for roughly 7% of fluid milk sales. More than 10% of U.S. dairy farms are certified organic.

Plaintiffs argue the current structure pulls revenue out of organic milk checks instead of supporting investment in that segment.

Previous Attempts Through USDA

According to CODE, the legal filings follow multiple attempts to address the issue through USDA’s administrative process.

The group submitted proposals in 2015 that were not advanced and presented organic-specific recommendations during the 2023 national FMMO hearing that were not considered. Concerns raised in post-hearing comments in 2024 were not reflected in the final rule, and administrative challenges filed in 2025 were opposed.

“USDA, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, has spent more than a decade protecting a Depression-era pricing system that forces organic dairy to subsidize conventional products, while refusing every administrative avenue that might have resolved the dispute without litigation,” CODE members said in a press release. “There is a growing movement in this country, across party lines, that wants to know where food comes from and how it’s produced. Organic farmers help make that possible. The federal government should not be making it harder for us to survive, and it has had every opportunity to fix this.”

What the Lawsuits Would Change

The lawsuits emphasize that the goal is not to eliminate FMMOs, but to remove organic milk from a pricing structure plaintiffs say was not designed for it.

“Federal law already recognizes organic as different. USDA’s own organic standards treat our milk as a distinct product with distinct requirements,” CODE members said. “We are not asking to tear down the FMMOs. We are asking FMMOs to reflect a distinction that the law already makes – and that consumers already understand.”

If successful, the cases could change how organic milk is handled within federal pricing orders and whether producers remain subject to pooling requirements moving forward.

The Scoop Podcast: From Dairy Waste to Organic Gold, The Rise of BenVireo TerraLux

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:51:50 GMT

BenVireo TerraLux is a new product that checks just about every box for organic growers says Gina Colfer, sustainable solutions agronomy manager at Wilbur-Ellis.

“Our solutions really are focused on helping the grower be more efficient with their ag inputs,” she says. “So we really are focused in trying to find products that help growers farm more holistically and sustainably and efficiently.”

And The Scoop readers agree that BenVireo TerraLux is an example of that as they recently voted it as runner-up in The Scoop’s 19th annual New Product of the Year contest for 2025. Read more about that here.

As Colfer explains, BenVireo TerraLux gives organic growers looking for high-efficiency nitrogen solutions across a wide range of crops (specialty vegetables, nuts, fruit, and row crops). It’s a novel form of organic nitrogen consisting of 50% ammonium and 50% nitrate, which is biologically derived from a true waste stream—dairy lagoon effluent.

It’s filtered down to 1 micron; neutral pH (~7.0); low salt index, so it can be applied via drip irrigation, micro-sprinklers, foliar applications, and drone applications.

According to Colfer, four factors distinguish this product from traditional organic fertilizers:

Immediate Plant Availability: Unlike most organic nitrogen sources that require time to mineralize in the soil, BenVireo TerraLux provides 100% plant-available nitrogen. It bypasses the “guessing game” of soil mineralization, allowing for precise “spoon-feeding” during peak demand.
No Biofilm or Clogging: With a 0:1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, the product contains no carbon to feed microbial biofilm. This prevents the common issue of clogged drip tapes and tanks associated with organic liquids.
Improved Handling & Odor: BenVireo TerraLux has a mild, non-offensive ammonia scent and is significantly easier to handle and is a selling point.
Sustainability Profile: It transforms a problematic waste stream (dairy effluent) into a high-value input. The process also creates a secondary byproduct—a 4-4-2 dry crumble fertilizer—ensuring nearly total utilization of the raw material.

John Phipps: The Slow Growth of Going Organic in Agriculture

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:27:54 GMT

A straightforward question from Melody Kappenman from Leaf River, Illinois:

“How much is organic farming growing year to year? I’m hearing more & more about organic foods being available. Is organic farming anywhere near half of all farming in the United States and/or the world?”

This is a great question, and the answer was mildly surprising.

To begin with, data about organic products usually comes from producer organizations along with numbers from the USDA. While they show historic sales growth they almost never compare it to total retail food sales. For example, here is a chart showing organic sales since 2005. $60 billion dollars is pretty impressive. Until you compare it with total food sales.

(Farm Journal)

Sales of food consumed at home were $1.05T in 2022 with food away from home $1.35T. Organic numbers are production, and USDA numbers are consumption.

Organic share of the food market is then anywhere from 2.5% to 6% depending on how you measure. Global organic sales are roughly twice as large, $133B, but total global food sales are three times as large, so the organic share is less than 2%.

(Farm Journal)

Organic sales are growing but have a long way to go to comprise half of our consumption. Part of the problem with increasing organic sales is some food is really hard to produce organically. The biggest segment – produce – has been the most successful, but not all plants lend themselves to organic production.

Organic dairy is challenging since the rules require organic feed, housing rules, ration and medicine restrictions, and more. Organic meat production has many of the same hurdles, but the largest is organic feed components are difficult to produce, particularly meeting the non-GMO standards for corn.

(Farm Journal)

Inflation has made consumers price sensitive, and organic production requires higher prices to offset costs.

The growth of U.S. organic market has been met in part by imports, especially fruits. I doubt organic market share will increase much due to such production issues, but also because objective proof of organic advantages for consumers is still sparse.

Sowing Seeds of Discontent

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 17:26:17 GMT

In case you missed it you can now share the -8-25-20 evening of absurdity with nationally-syndicated cartoonists Leigh Rubin, creator of the comic strip “Rubes,” and Wisconsin State Journal editorial cartoonist Phil Hands. This odd couple riffed off each other’s cartoons, demonstrated how the twisted minds of two different cartoonists work. If you’ve ever wanted to learn from a professional smart-aleck or full-time doodler, now’s your chance!

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/DMKXBYXOkHQ

That fellow is in quite a pickle.

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 17:26:02 GMT

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