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From Brown Rice to Biofuels 167
Westby Cooperative Creamery, and the big cheese of the area,
Organic Valley.
In 1988, a small group of Vernon County farmers, concerned
about the threat to family farms, created the Coulee Region Organic
Producer Pool (CROPP). The cooperative—better known as Organic
Valley for the brand name it sells its products under—has grown to
more than 1,600 farmer- owners in 33 states. It is best known for its
milk, but the co- op also sells cheese, juice, eggs, produce, soy, and
other products—all organic—as well as meat sold under the Organic
Prairie brand. CROPP, based in La Farge, is one of the oldest and
largest organic farmer- owned cooperatives in North America, with
more than $600 million in annual sales. The co- op has offered an
economic alternative to hundreds of small family farms, which are
organized into regional producer pools. Eighty- fi ve percent of its
1,336 dairy farmers have herds of 100 or fewer cows—such as Scott
and Robin Mikitas, fourth- generation farmers in Calhan, Colorado,
who have 67 milkers. The average fl ock of egg- laying hens is 5,000,
compared to 100,000 or more for industrial- scale egg operations.
In addition to preserving family farms, Organic Valley has
been a champion of high- quality organic standards. Its producers
are bound by a membership agreement and quality standards set
by the CROPP Board regarding pasture, access to outdoors, and
farm materials. Those standards often go beyond U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards, which big agribusinesses
constantly attempt to water down. For example, CROPP
farmers are required to provide 1.75 square feet of indoor space
and 5 square feet of outdoor space for each laying hen. In comparison,
the USDA is considering raising its outdoor square footage
requirement for organic hens to two or perhaps three square
feet—a small move that has already met with fi erce opposition
from large- scale producers.
Organic Valley’s farmer- owners put up equity when they join
the co- op, investing the equivalent of 5.5 percent of their annual
milk production in Class B preferred stock, which forms the
base of the co-op’s working capital. Farmers earn 8 percent on
their money and can put more into the fund if they choose. But
the co- op has also looked beyond its members for capital.