Cornucopia’s Take: Cornucopia has been filing formal complaints about Aurora Dairy, and several other giant certified “organic” operations in the west, for over 10 years. The USDA has sometimes refused to investigate their alleged lack of grazing and confinement conditions, even when Cornucopia provided aerial images of ungrazed, sometimes hayed, pasture. When the USDA has investigated, and found operations operating illegally, as the Post documented all too often they are led off with a slap on the wrist and no monetary penalty.

True organic farmers cannot compete with the price point of “organic” feedlot milk. To support the very best organic dairies, you can consult Cornucopia’s scorecard.

Amish Farmers Square Off Against Big Organic in Milk Battle
The Washington Post
by Peter Whoriskey

This small town has become a landmark in the organic-farm movement, and it has nothing to do with foodies or hippies.

Instead it has been Amish farmers who, in their suspenders and wide-brimmed hats, have helped develop one of the densest clusters of organic farms in the United States. More than 90 operations certified by the Agriculture Department have emerged within a 10-mile radius, producing, among other things, corn, soybeans, eggs and, perhaps most important, milk.

“This is our living and our way of life,” said Eldon T. Miller, 71, an Amish dairy farmer here. A little over 20 years ago, Miller began holding informational meetings in his basement about organics, and the idea slowly spread across the area.

The question for small organic dairy farmers is how long they can hold out against growing competition from very big dairies producing large volumes of organic milk that, in the view of many here, does not deserve the label.