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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


What's organic and what's 'natural'?

Monday, October 5, 2009

Organic milk producers in the United States, already under financial stress as sales flattened, went ballistic in the summer when word got out that the largest organic milk processor, Dean Foods Inc., based in Dallas, intended to set up a new, lower-priced category called "natural dairy." Organic producers charge it is attempting to pirate away organic consumers who can't tell the difference between regulated "organic" brands and unregulated "natural."

Under its Horizon brand, Dean had already switched production of its soy drinks to conventional soybeans from organic (and labelled it natural), a move organic producers believe went  largely unnoticed. Critics say Horizon, with the largest dollar-value volume of sales of any organic brand, has informed some producers it won't renew purchase contracts.

Organic dairy farmers convinced Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to attend an emergency rally in Wisconsin in mid-July. It remains to be seen what the U.S. agriculture department can do for producers.

Dairy economics in the United States as a whole continue to go sour. The price for Class III milk needs to get to $15-$16 per hundredweight to relieve financial stress on producers, says Bob Cropp, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That might not happen until next year. In July, the Class III price was barely $10. BF

Current Issue

May 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Mother’s Day Q&A with Anna McCutcheon

Thursday, May 8, 2025

Mother’s Day is only a few days away (that’s another reminder), and this week Farms.com has connected with moms in ag for their thoughts on motherhood, its challenges, and how being a parent has changed them. Anna McCutcheon (AM) and her husband Mark are the first generation on their... Read this article online

Creating Safe Farms for Kids

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is hosting the second annual Kids FarmSafe Week from May 12 to 18, with the theme “Nurturing the Future of Agriculture.” The initiative aims to raise awareness about health and safety risks for children and youth on farms. According... Read this article online

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