Access to Pasture – new rules for organic meat and dairy in 2010
What will the new Access To Pasture rules mean for consumers?
Ask any kid “what do cows eat?” and the answer is likely to be “grass.” If that was true our food supply would be safer, there would be less runoff in our streams and lakes, and the dairy products you eat would be healthier, richer in beneficial Essential Fatty Acids.
The truth is that most dairy animals, even organic ones, eat a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) – corn and soybeans if they’re lucky, a less-savory mixture including various animal by products if they’re not so lucky.
New rules in the National Organic Program (NOP) aim to close loopholes that have been part of the USDA organic rules since their initial implementation in 1990. Here to help us understand what changes are on the horizon is Ed Maltby, Executive Director of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association.
Talking to Ed, you get the feeling that he has an answer for every organic dairy question you could ask, and that he can probably give you the historical basis for any given organic dairy production issue or guideline. His gentle accent, evidence of his years in southwestern England and Wales belies the authority he yields. Ed is a guy with an extensive background in dairying, and years of experience decoding the rulemaking side of the organic business. He is a farmer, an experienced leader and policy-maker, and most of all someone who wants to make a difference.
PastureLand: How did you get into farming?
Ed: I was born on the south coast of England, and spent time farming in the next county over. I spent 15 yrs farming in Wales and came to the States in 1988. At the time there wasn’t organic certification in United Kingdom but my farming methods were organic. The Soil Association (one of the first organic education and certification organizations) was starting to certify farms in the early 1980’s.
PastureLand: What kind of farming did you do?
Ed: I was involved in sustainable ag without really knowing it. In England there were grass-based dairies with year round grazing. We used our own winter feed, haylage (fermented high-moisture feed, made mostly of grasses) and small grains. Wales is very well-suited to growing grass and conserving forage.
PastureLand: Lots of organic farmers have a story of something, an event that turned them away from conventional farming to organic. Was there some event that turned you toward sustainable ag?
Ed: I’d been farming sustainably my whole life and was averse to using pesticides. Nothing changed my thinking; it just was never part of how I farmed.
PastureLand: What got you into the policy side of farming?
Ed: I moved to the States to help set up a residential farm center for adolescents with autism. I was increasingly interested in farm consulting and the policy side of things. Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Association advertised for an Executive Director and I started with them in 2005.
PastureLand: Do you farm now?
Ed: I have 15 acres now. We do produce, chickens, and are building up to having livestock again, but we probably will not milk cows again.
PastureLand: Why is it important that cows can graze outside and eat pasture grass?
Ed: Livestock should be in the most natural environment that they can; herbivores should be on pasture; pasture that provides nutrition. Year round confinement is the opposite of their natural inclination. Pasture diet alters composition of milk and improves nutritional qualities.
PastureLand: How will the new rule clarify expectations for consumers?
Ed: It will clarify and guarantee that organic cows graze and receive nutrition from grass.
PastureLand: What gives you hope that you’re making a difference?
Ed: Over the years we have been able to influence change incrementally and with a new Administration we can now move forward more quickly. Enforcement of the existing regulations is the key, and the current administration is committed to enforcing the regulations and have doubled NOP’s budget this year to make that possible. They will have 26 employees next year. Secretary Vilsack appointed Miles McEvoy to be Deputy Administrator of the National Organic Program (NOP) in September. Miles has long history with organic certification and great knowledge of organic rules, so we hope we see change in how NOP operates.
PastureLand: The comment period on the proposed “access to pasture rule” closed in December 2008. What’s been happening since then?
Ed: The rule writer has to take into account all the comments that were received. They don’t have to answer every comment, but show that they‘ve all been read and taken into account, in detail with notes such as “30 commenters said…” For the first half of the year, USDA writers were reading and taking into account those comments. The Final Rule was completely written by September, and then sent for internal review within the different departments of the USDA. When it’s been ok’d by those then it’s sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other agencies like the Small Business Administration and reviewed there to make sure it’s not onerous on any one sector, and fits the policy of the White House. That’s where it is now, and we hope it will leave the OMB by January 2010.
PastureLand: The guidelines on access to pasture have been up for review several times including 1990, 2000 and 2002. What makes you think there will be meaningful reform this time?
Ed: It has taken a long time – it is a major piece of rule making that gives specific guidelines for farmers and certifiers to follow. It was slowed down by strong lobbying within NOP by lobbyists representing processors to make it more complicated than it needed to be. They were exaggerating the significant economic effect of the proposed rule, and that the proposed clarification made it more difficult to operate an organic dairy. If the rule had been determined that it would have less economic significance it would have gone through faster.
One issue that has made this last part move slightly quicker is Obama’s appointment of Kathleen Merrigan to Deputy Secretary at USDA, which is positive as she was involved with rule writing in 90’s. She says she is going to ensure the rules are published in timely way and make sure that they are enforced.
Horizon was first to sign on to more stringent rules and then Organic Valley listened to its producers who did want the stricter rule. The processors joined with the farmers when it became clear there was a united voice for change from both farmers and consumers. Processors realized they need to be part of the process and that there was a distinct marketing advantage to do so. There was also a PR benefit that they could show they were in support of pasture regulation.
PastureLand: Loopholes in the NOP until now have allowed large producers to produce organic meat and dairy without a lot of pasture time, which has created mistrust of what “organic” really means. How will the new access to pasture guidelines change that?
Ed: The hope is that we now have a producer voice in DC where we can actually ensure that the producers (farmers) are represented, not just the voices of processors or co-ops, by having an organization that is present and aware and able to feed information back to producers.
One example where the pasture producers were unhappy with progress was in the spring of 1997. Large processors were in no hurry to change things. Processors – Aurora Dairy, Horizon, Organic Valley, Stonyfield – said they were representing the industry, and that it didn’t need to change very fast. We (NODPA), working within the Federation of Organic Dairy Farmers (the umbrella group for the three organic dairy producers alliances across the country) convened a meeting in 2007 of processors and producers groups, to discuss the issues with the processors who were unwilling to sign on to a strong pasture rule with clear benchmarks. That’s when we started a long campaign to work directly with producers and processors groups to make it beneficial to everyone to support a strong rule.
PastureLand: What do consumers need to know about the new Access To Pasture Rule?
Ed: Hopefully when it comes out it will be one standard regulation applied across the country, regardless of size of farm or location – California or Maine, that cows will be grazing nutritious pasture and consumers can be guaranteed through certification that milk will be kept segregated all the way through to the carton.
I think consumers will get it – the hardcore organic consumers who have been involved will definitely get it. The next layer out, people who questioned validity of organic claims, will feel more reassured, that they can trust the organic label. It should provide a great opportunity to have prolonged education to reinforce the integrity of the organic label.
PastureLand: The NOSB nearly made a similar ruling in 2000. Why didn’t it happen that time?
Ed: Lobbyists in DC slowed it down. There was a long history in the Bush administration of recommendations not going anywhere. There was also a lack of funding for the NOSB and NOP from USDA. It is difficult to believe that any other proposed rule has gone through the investigation this one has. The simple access to pasture rule already in the current regulations could be enforced, but USDA lawyers said that the existing language would not stand up to a legal challenge.
PastureLand: Will this help differentiate “organic” from “natural”?
Ed: Some of the false claims by people producing natural should be questioned by consumers and the new regulations will allow for more positive marketing about organic milk.
PastureLand: How will the new rule change things for organic dairy producers who are currently not grass-based?
Ed: It’s going to have a couple of effects. Organic dairy farmers have had many years to prepare – for landlocked farmers who can’t add land, they will have to reduce the number of cows so they have adequate pasture. For those who used pasture just for exercise, they will have to learn new skills, learn how to graze and graze effectively, learn how to get good nutrition from pasture: protein levels, sugar content, fiber content. We already see cows losing condition because farmers who haven’t grazed before don’t have knowledge about how to use pasture, so there will need to be a lot of education around formulation of rations
For those who can buy more land it will be a capital investment. They will have to buy certified organic land, or spend 3 yrs transitioning.
The supply of certified organic milk has grown at a rate that is not “organic”. The Access to Pasture rule will bring more of an “organic” growth in supply side of the market as dairies that are potentially expanding will need more land as well as more cows and new entrants will have a higher capital investment in purchasing more land. This is a more honest and fair way to increase supply that respects the investment of existing organic farmers while ensuring a high standard in organic production.
PastureLand: Who stands to win from the new guidelines?
Ed: Those farmers that have been interpreting the rule correctly – mostly or completely grazing their cattle – will be in the best position to continue. Consumers and long-term organic integrity will win.
PastureLand: How will the pasture rule affect pay price for farmers?
Ed: We are at low for organic pay price, and the pasture rule won’t have any influence. Pay-price stability on the organic side will be because of rising conventional price where excess organic milk is sold or “balanced’. The increase in the non-organic pay price will not increase the organic and we don’t expect the organic pay price to go up at all for 12-18 months until surplus supply is absorbed by increased demand and some organic producers leave the industry. We should see 3-4 % growth in demand for organic fluid milk in 2010. The big issue is that many younger generation farmers who came in with the Harvey rule in 2007 and took on debt are now unable to service the debt on their loans with the current price they are getting for their milk
PastureLand: Looking ahead, what is the best thing that could happen to small family owned dairy producers? What’s the worst thing?
Ed: The best thing would be that consumers make it very well known to the milk companies that the reason they buy organic dairy is to support family farms that graze. I get up in the morning feeling hopeful.
The worst thing could be if we don’t introduce any kind of supply management, and that pay price swings continue so that the only dairies that can survive are the largest operations.
PastureLand: Do you think the Obama administration has an interest in fostering a national conversation about food?
Ed: They have a great interest and the impact is more in laying the groundwork within USDA with some key opportunities for organic agriculture, and the need to have greater knowledge and impact of our food dollars.
The “Know Your Farmer” program, introduced by Kathleen Merrigan has had an impact already. Significant money is being fed to the program. The initial impact of White House garden and high level PR from USDA is starting to change mindset of USDA views of organic. It is no longer seen as “fringe.” Topics such as obesity and food deserts can be addressed through new prominence with Merrigan’s and Michelle Obama’s support.
We ended our conversation with Ed saying again that he wakes up in the morning hopeful. He is hopeful that the new grazing rules will improve things for everyone in the equation – for dairy farmers and farming communities, for farm animals and the environment, and for consumers. Let’s hope he’s right.
Further reading:
On Mike McEvoy and the National Organic Program
On the appointment of Kathleen Merrigan
On the impact of the Harvey rule
On the USDA’s new Know Your Farmer program
On obesity
On food deserts
