National dairy distributor Organic Valley has offered to purchase milk from as many as 90 organic farmers in the region whose contracts with two organic producers, Horizon Organic and Maple Hill, will soon be terminated.
When Horizon announced it would pull its contracts with 89 farmers in the Northeast, many farmers said they didn’t know if they would survive the blow. Maple Hill recently announced plans to terminate contracts with an additional 46 organic farmers in New York.
National trends have made it more difficult for small, organic dairies in Vermont to survive, and other companies, including Organic Valley, have previously said they lack the capacity to take on milk from additional producers, leaving them with nowhere to sell their milk.
Officials assembled several task forces at the state and regional levels, sending recommendations to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Organic Valley’s offer may provide a way forward for many of the producers. Of the more than 130 farmers who have lost contracts, 10 have signed on to Organic Valley’s offer, and 80 letters of intent have been sent to other farmers in the region, according to a statement from Organic Valley on Tuesday.
Dozens of the farms that received offers are located in Vermont, according to a statement from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. George Osgood operates one of them, located in Corinth.
In a statement issued by Organic Valley, he said his family has farmed the land for more than 65 years and he’s “glad to partner” with the company to continue that tradition.
“A cooperative owned by small family farms is the perfect fit for us,” he said in a statement issued by Organic Valley. “It gives us the chance to keep doing what we love.”
Several state officials applauded the news on Tuesday.
“This is a significant development, and we are grateful to Organic Valley for stepping up to offer this option to family farms in Vermont,” said Anson Tebbetts, secretary of Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., also 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 its efforts in the Northeast in the coming weeks.
