The following was written by an organic dairy farmer in Truxton,
N.Y., who is also active in the Northeast Organic Dairy Farmers
Association. ChewsWise welcomes comments from other organic
producers or industry participants with varying points of view.
By Kathie Arnold
What makes a cow organic?  The answer has certainly been controversial over the last several years, especially when it […]

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Here’s what I’m reading lately:
China Bound. Jim Harkness, the president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (who is also fluent in Mandarin), is blogging about organic food and farming from China, including a fledgling organic store with its own farm and CSA-like business in Beijing. Speaking to a store clerk, Harkness reports: "I […]

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The Federation of Organic Dairy Farmers (FOOD Farmers) issued a blistering attack (pdf) on the USDA and Aurora Organic Dairy (AOD) Tuesday, criticizing the plea bargain they had reached settling 14 alleged violations of the organic regulations by Aurora. The charges were made in a publicly released letter to Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner.
FOOD Farmers […]

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In a rebuttal to my Op-Ed in the Rocky Mountain News, Aurora Organic Dairy President Mark Retzloff would have us believe that he has the best interests of organic agriculture and consumers in mind.
He does not. 
This dispute started because organic dairy farmers around the nation were alarmed at Aurora’s organic dairy practices. To be sure, […]

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By Samuel Fromartz
The dust up over Aurora Organic Dairy’s alleged misdeeds in the organic dairy business has kicked into full gear.
The latest missive flew out Tuesday, as one of  Aurora’s certifiers, Quality Assurance International (QAI), said it did nothing wrong even though a farm and milk it certified were cited by the USDA in […]

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Here’s the short film of the flooded Midwest farmers by Madison filmmaker Gretta Wing Miller.
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Original post by Samuel Fromartz and software by Elliott Back
Farms Farms

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By Samuel Fromartz
You probably saw the pictures of flooded farms, overflowing rivers, and the rain that swamped the Upper Midwest last month.
What you might not know is that organic vegetable farmers in the region had severe losses. I knew one of them, Jack Hedin, who owns Featherstone Farm, in southeastern Minnesota.
His farm is nestled in […]

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Here’s a an op-ed published I wrote for the Rocky Mountain News focusing on the recent agreement between Aurora Organic Dairy and the USDA.
 
   
By Samuel Fromartz
September 8, 2007
After
years of complaints and aggressive public advocacy, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture last week did what it should have done long ago: It
forced the largest […]

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The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has an in-depth look at Wegmans’ organic research farm in upstate New York. "The farm’s mission … is to provide locally grown
fruits, vegetables and honey to nearby Wegmans stores and, eventually,
to serve as an educational model for local growers, employees and
consumers who want to learn about organic food production," the […]

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