Why thinking consumers boycott products from Organic Valley due to its egregious business practices against member farms that border on modern feudalism.
In a very quiet decision that received little media attention even within the natural foods industry, the board of directors of Organic Valley recently voted 4-3 to ban the farmers which make up its 1600 small farm cooperative from selling raw milk to consumers on the side.
The company cited legal concerns and complaints from farmers regarding competition as its reasons for the decision. This is sheer and utter nonsense and a perfect example of corporate smoke and mirrors. The attorneys for Organic Valley even admit that the legal issues are nothing to worry about in actuality.
And, the competition issue? It’s not farmers complaining about competition that is the true worry for Organic Valley.
The truth is the company is terrified of the surging popularity of raw milk. Â This market trend combined with an increasingly savvy and informed consumer that is rapidly moving away from processed milk and back to the “fresh from the farm” variety threatens to affect company profits over the long haul.
Indeed, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of pasteurization, particularly ultra pasteurization, the type of milk processing favored by Organic Valley for its Grade A milk.
With this knowledge, consumers are seeking out farmers directly for their fresh dairy which ultimately threatens to stagnate profit growth for Organic Valley if this type of trend continues (all indications are that it will).
In an attempt to strangle the competition, protect its source of supply and handcuff its farmers from making revenue elsewhere, Organic Valley has chosen the “bully the farmer” approach to managing its small farm cooperative. The company has now become more like the mega-dairy processors it claims to abhor who make a habit of pushing farmers around to line the pockets of its own executives and to aggressively protect their market interests.
Boycott All Organic Valley Products!
Organic Valley has shown its true colors with this decision.
Taking a step in this direction indicates a basic company disregard and disrespect for farmer independence and consumer choice.
Forbidding what a farmer does with his time and product outside of his contract with Organic Valley is a blow below the belt and just plain wrong.
Direct sales to the consumer are one of the smartest business decisions a small farmer can make to keep his operation profitable. Â Â Forbidding this type of activity threatens the economic sustainability of its small farms, ironically one of Organic Valley’s stated goals.
Such an outrageous and hypocritical corporate decision requires swift and decisive action on the part of the consumer.
For my part, I will no longer be buying any Organic Valley products.
I never did buy their milk, but I will no longer buy their cheese, butter, or other dairy items either.
I hope you will join me in a boycott of this company that pretends to be a friend of the environment, farmers, and consumers but is nothing short of a wolf in sheep’s clothing to the sustainable and local family farm movement.
Organic Valley’s business practices are simply a modern form of feudalism that benefits the nobles and squashes the peasants.
Farmer Jon,
It's sad that an OV boycott has negative financial effects on OV coop families. Despite being sad, when the 1600 farm families in OV have had enough of the effects of a boycott, perhaps they'll insist that OV change this policy. I cannot imagine that 1600 farming families cannot change the mind of 4 )V board members.
We don't want to bring your family harm through a boycott, we just want access to raw milk. Help us help you by insisting that OV allow us to continue buying raw milk from other OV members.
Should OV not comply with the wishes of consumers, I am sure some enterprising organic producer will see the business opportunity that awaits them in forming a competitive coop that allows their members the right to sell raw milk.
This is how market-based economics works. You have a part as much as us, the raw-milk consuming public. Let's work together to bring an end to this stupidity that negatively effects all of us.
Sarah, I am certainly not into denying any farmer their right to control his own destiny. After all I am a farmer needing to control mine. I'm a third generation dairy farmer and all of us have been only dairy producers except for the gardens we raise to feed ourselves. Any farmer that wants to diversify their opperation and sell direct to the consumer is welcome to do so. You are wrong that a boycott will not hurt any of us farmers. If OV sales decrease by a certain percentage we will all have to decrease our production accordingly. That's how a cooperative is supposed to work. All for one and one for all kind of thing. I'm concerned that you would take joy in OV folding like a house of cards. Where do you think our 1600 small farmers would then sell their milk. We are paid a sustainable livable price for our milk. I have managed to pay off the farm and send kids to college while shipping milk to OV. Hard to do in any other dairy market lately. The irony of a boycott in defence of the small farmer is that it will impact our smallest farmers the most. Most of our smallest farmers live in regions where there are not enough consumers of raw milk to keep even their kids in shoes, let alone send them to college. The reason I belong to Organic Valley is because it always has supported and still is supporting the small farms through truly cooperative actions.
As a fifth generation farmer I have to say that farmers that sell only through one market, like OV, are risking the farm. I do mean that literally. I do hope Farmer Jon produces more than just dairy and Mrs. Mahaffey eventually diversifies. I've increased the size of my farm tenfold because I've bought up single product/buyer farms that were going under. It's not enough to work hard, you have to farm smart. A boycott won't hurt you much if you run your farm well. Blaming consumers for making a choice based on their values is wrong. The OV coop made a choice to limit their farmers and they will have to live with the consequences of that choice. There were other options besides an all out ban.
Hi Tipper, you can couch the decision any way you like, but it all smacks of Big Brother to us consumers. We've seen all this before and all it does is take away farmer's rights and consumer choice and helps only the big corporation in the long run. Saying that the farmer knew what he was getting into from the start doesn't justify it at all. Why doesn't OV try paying the farmer what his organic milk is actually worth? That's a GREAT way to keep them selling milk only to OV and not try to ramp up a raw milk business on the side to get their family above subsistence wage.
The farmers make the independent decision when they sign up for the cooperative. Entering the cooperative binds them to whatever agreements the cooperative determines are appropriate.
OV is run by farmers. They are looking out for the best interests of the entire group here.
Hi Farmer Jon, if a farmer has a long term plan to leave the co-op when his raw milk sales get big enough, what business is it of yours? Denying a farmer the right to control his own destiny over the long haul is absolutely WRONG. And, a boycott won't hurt the little farmer much at all .. we consumers only need to hit Organic Valley's big bottom line a few percentage points and they will fold like a house of cards. The boycott will only hurt at the aggregate level, not at the level of any one farm.
It's fine for a company to try and protect its source of supply, but bullying independent farmers and taking away their ability to make their own decisions is not the appropriate way to do it. It's wrong and any company that treats its farmers this way will not get one dollar of my money.
As an Organic Valley farmer/owner i'd like to comment on some of these assumptions being made here. We are a farmer owned and governed co-op, not a corporation. We are run for the good of all of our members. The decision was not made due to our farmers selling a gallon or two of milk every week, but those making their own raw milk business while using our co-op support stucture to balance and finance the building of their independent business on the side. That kind of thinking is anti cooperative. I believe that farmers should be able to sell raw milk and consume raw milk, but our farmer owned co-op should not be in the business of balancing sales of farmers who have the plan to leave the co-op as soon as they have built up their their sales. A boycot of our brand will only hurt all of our farmers that believe in a better life for our cows, planet, and people. I'm amazed that a consumer would boycott our products while buying from a company sourcing milk from a 25000 cow dairy. Our board does walk a mile in the shoes of our farmers because they are all farmers themselves. A cooperative only works when we are all pulling together.
Farmer Jon, I’ve really tried to see both sides of this argument. But I don’t see what’s wrong with these farmers ‘building up their businesses’ as you say. The free market is what determines these types of things. If people don’t want raw milk, those other farmers will just not offer that any more. You’re still making money. And if not… If raw milk make a bigger and bigger come back, maybe you should sell it too. We all have to change in our lives. It’s not fun or what we want to do sometimes, but we have to. Restricting the rights of a farmer to be diversified and sell only to OV and not raw milk is just wrong. Restricting rights is about what’s good for you–not about what’s good for consumers. In the end, that will come back to bite you in the behind. Always do what’s right for the consumer to survive for the long haul.
Why shouldn't OV try to protect its supply source? OV needs milk from organic farms, of which there is a limited supply. Should a farmer who sells raw milk be shut down for some reason (remember – raw milk sales are illegal in Wisconsin, where many OV farms are located), OV will lose a large chunk of their milk source. If farmers are signing an agreement saying that they will not sell milk on the side, that's their decision. Those who do not choose to sign the agreement should be able to remain profitable if raw milk is the threatening money-maker you seem to believe it is.
I should have posted this in the main blog, but instead of Organic Valley cheese, I've tried the Tree of Life cheeses. I've been very happy with them. Also, try out Kerry Gold butter instead of Organic Valley butter. Anyone have other brands they can suggest as alternatives, particularly when traveling and options are limited?