ACTION ALERTS
ACTION NEEDED ON Organic Dairy
February 1, 2019
NOC members are calling on the Secretary of Agriculture and the National Organic Program to restore fairness in the organic dairy sector. Unfortunately, violations of pasture rule requirements for organic dairy livestock, as well as lack of consistency in how dairy cows are transitioned to organic production (‘Origin of Livestock’), have resulted in an uneven playing field.
We believe that this lack of consistent enforcement and fairness has contributed to the oversupply of milk in the marketplace, with devastating effects on pay prices to organic dairy farmers.
In October of 2018, NOC convened a meeting for organic leaders in St. Paul, Minnesota alongside the National Organic Standards Board meeting. During that meeting, NOC called on the top official at the National Organic Program, Deputy Administrator Jenny Tucker, to take action to level the playing field for organic dairy farmers. The NOSB also took up this issue by passing a unanimous resolution urging USDA Secretary Perdue to issue new regulations on Origin of Livestock that reflect the will of public stakeholders and the organic community.
Secretary Perdue needs to hear from organic producers and the organic community!
Let the Secretary know that this issue is critically important to the integrity of organic and that you support fairness in the organic dairy sector. Download this template so you can send a letter to the Secretary urging action to restore fairness. Then click here to let us know that you sent a letter.
Here is a list of organizations and companies that have sent letters to Secretary Perdue urging action: