By Laura Mazur
Community Post
Celebrating 20 years this year, farming with Organic Valley Family of Farms keeps growing and growing.

The annual regional meeting for the cooperative was held last week in Maria Stein to give area farmers a rundown on what is going on in the business today and how it has indeed grown.
Held at the Othmary Dairy Farm, which is run by Dan and Beck Fullenkamp, farmers got to even take a look at and hear about what some of their neighbors are doing in the business.
“It's an adjustment. It gets down to milking, hay, silage and exercising the cows a lot,” said Dan Fullenkamp, who got on the truck to organic in November 2006 with Organic Valley.
With organic farming, cows are pastured instead of standing in their stalls and having food brought to them. With grasses being eaten and manure being put into the ground, organic farming has worked for some because it is just as productive for the land as it is for the milk.
“It's easier. You just have to change your mindset. There's a three-year transition for the crops, but there's no reason why we can't have at least state average farms,” said Dave Osterloh, who works his organic family farm in Minster with Organic Valley.
With no chemicals being sprayed on fields for organic farming, the mindset changes from one of chemistry to natural systems.
George Siemon, a founding farmer of Organic Valley who serves as the cooperative's CEO, spoke to farmers about the national growth of organic farming, as well as compared the region with the national average.
“Twenty years is hard to believe. We though we were wildly succeeding the first few years, but we were not foreseeing what we would have had in the past 10 years,” said Siemon.
Headquartered in La Farge, Wis., last year's Organic Valley sales came in at a record $432.6 million, which was a 30 percent growth over 2006. Sales distribution goes out by Organic Valley brand, private label brands, ingredient sales and bulk milk sales.
Last year's biggest financial story was just increasing. To the dairy pool, 268 members were added, increasing milk supply by 207 million pounds and sales by $99.1 million. This past year, the 937th member was added to the dairy pool and the cooperative opened its arms to five new states: Virginia, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Louisiana. Organic Valley's membership keeps growing, as well. Starting with a handful of farmers 20 years ago, the cooperative is now 1,239 strong. Siemon cited that there was no organic milk even south of Ohio until a few years ago.
“The real opportunity is for the mass market consumer to want more and more organic,” he said.
With the pay price on an increase to organic farmers, Organic Valley is physically looking to see how farms are working. A pasturing survey was sent out to farmers with physical inspection by dairy pool coordinators taking place for verification. Of the 1,239, 95 percent of them are pasturing their cows to bring more and better quality milk.
Milk quality awards were given last year to 85 members in the gold category, 114 in the silver category and 128 in the recognition category.
Educating others about organic farming has been a large part organic farming in recent years. With quality of products, the treatment of animals and other news in the media about farming, Organic Valley strives to keep all of its members on track and bringing the best to customers in dairy and beef products.
For more information on going organic, log onto www.organicvalley.coop.