Those joining before July 1 were initially part of the reserve supply group - a status that has since been removed. So far, Organic Valley has welcomed 65 of the affected dairies. It’s time they embody their social mission and do right by the Northeast rural communities they have impacted, giving these farmers a future.” “The most recent economic downturn coupled with drought conditions have turned a crisis into a near emergency and Danone has the resources to live up to their commitment to invest in the region. “An investment of $20m to match the USDA contribution would make a huge impact towards repairing the damage Danone has caused in the region,” he said. Maltby said the lobbying also secured $20m of funding from the USDA, which he is hoping Danone would consider matching. At the start of 2022, a group of 27 farmer representatives set up the Northeast Dairy Task Force, which made recommendations to the US Department of Agriculture over market development, processing expansion, distribution logistics, farm business viability and the implementation and enforcement of organic standard rules. ![]() He thinks the company, which is B-Corp-certified, must do more to protect farming in the region. Danone, despite the pledges of supporting environment and the local community, did not take into account the effect on the farms.” “The decision was made purely on the logistics of transporting milk from farm to the processor that could package UHT milk. “The effect on the farms that had their contract cancelled was traumatic and devastating, not only to them but to the regional community,” he continued. And Maltby thinks there are limited buyer options, as the region is dominated by larger co-ops that compete on price, leaving little leverage room for farmers. This has led to cost-cutting and lack of investment in farm infrastructure.”ĭanone-owned Horizon Organic is the largest supplier of organic dairy milk in North America, making the effects of the termination ‘potentially disastrous’ for some farmers’ revenues. Ed Maltby, executive director of the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA), told DairyReporter: “For the past four years, organic dairy farmers have been paid an average of $31/cwt with production costs averaging $35-$37/cwt. ![]() This is the outcome of a year-long search for alternative buyers that 89 organic dairies from the US northeast embarked on as they learned that Danone North America would stop buying their milk.īut oversupply in the region, combined with spiralling producer and infrastructure costs, has made the journey less than straightforward, with some farmers having to make costly upgrades to their farm infrastructure and others yet to find new buyers for their produce.Īnd it’s a very tight market. Some have sold out, some have turned to conventional production and most have joined local organic dairy co-ops. Packaging & Packing Materials, Containers.Processing Equipment & Systems, Automation, Control. ![]()
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