Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Organic Milk Farms In Trouble

There was a disheartening article in The New York Times last week about the difficulties that many organic dairy farms are facing due to the rising cost of organic feed and decreased demand due to the recession.

To sum up:
"Here in New England, where dairy farms are as much a part of the landscape as whitewashed churches and rocky beaches, organic dairy farmers are bearing the brunt of the nationwide slowdown, in part because of the cost of transporting feed from the Midwest. The contracts of 10 of Maine’s 65 organic dairies will not be renewed by HP Hood, one of the region’s three large processors. In Vermont, 32 dairy farms have closed since Dec. 1, significantly altering the face of New England’s dairy industry."

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