Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T01:28:56.119Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Redefining the Farmer-Processor Relationship: The Story of Organic Cow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2016

OLIVIA R. SAUCIER
Affiliation:
Olivia R. Saucier holds a master’s degree in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont. Contact information: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Morrill Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail: [email protected]
ROBERT L. PARSONS
Affiliation:
Robert L. Parsons is Extension Professor in the department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. Contact information: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Morrill Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail: [email protected]
SHOSHANAH INWOOD
Affiliation:
Shoshanah Inwood, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Development and Applied at the University of Vermont. Contact information: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Morrill Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract

This article examines, from the viewpoint of a core group of Vermont milk producers, the period in the mid-1990s when organic dairy became mainstream. We look at the rise and subsequent takeover of one of the first organic milk-processing companies, The Organic Cow of Vermont, through the eyes of the farmers involved. In so doing, we provide needed perspective on the role of food producers working in industries subject to growth and consolidation. As producers of a commodity that grew out of the conventional system, organic dairy farmers faced unique choices that set them apart from other organic producers at that time. We demonstrate that the market for organic milk and dairy provided the opportunity for a new kind of farmer-processor relationship in which producers were supported through stable pay-prices and an intimate business relationship with processors. This article challenges the idea that the organic dairy industry was built by corporations trying to profit from booming consumer demand for organic foods and offers important contributions to debates surrounding the growth and conventionalization of organic food systems.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2016. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Business History Conference. All rights reserved. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bibliography of Works Cited

Albers, Jan. Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Beeman, Randal, and Pritchard, James. A Green and Permanent Land. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001.Google Scholar
Belasco, Warren. Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Paperbacks, 2007.Google Scholar
Bevan, Teleri. They Dared to Make a Difference. Aberystwyth: FBA Publications, 2009.Google Scholar
Carolan, Michael. The Sociology of Food and Agriculture. New York: Routledge, 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conford, Philip. The Origins of the Organic Movement. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 2001.Google Scholar
Danbom, David. Born in the Country: A History of Rural America, 1st ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day-Farnsworth, Lindsey, McCown, Brent, Miller, Michelle, and Pfeiffer, Anne. Scaling Up: Meeting the Demand for Local Food. Madison, WI: Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, 2009.Google Scholar
Dean Foods. 2007 Annual Report: Fortifying our Future. Dallas: Dean Foods, 2008. http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/88/881/88165/items/288898/Fiscal2007AnnualReportWrapFINAL.PDF, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Dupuis, E. Melanie. Nature’s Perfect Food. New York: New York University Press, 2002.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, Deborah. Every Farm a Factory: The Industrial Ideal in American Agriculture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, Shane. Trucking Country: The Road to America’s Wal-Mart Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Henderson, J. Lloyd. The Fluid Milk Industry. Westport, CT: The Avi Publishing Company, 1971.Google Scholar
Kastel, Mark. Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk. Cornucopia, WI: Cornucopia Institute, 2006.Google Scholar
Manchester, Alden. The Public Role in the Dairy Economy: Why and How Governments Intervene in the Milk Business. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983.Google Scholar
McCroskey, Sammy, Fallert, Richard, and Whitted, Stephen. Changes in Dairying. Experiment Station Report B844. Columbia: University of Missouri College of Agriculture, 1966, 1011.Google Scholar
Mendelson, Anne. Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk through the Ages. New York: Knopf, 2008.Google Scholar
Mendenhall, Katherine. NOFA-NY Organic Dairy Handbook. Cobleskill, NY: NOFA-NY, 2009.Google Scholar
Paxson, Heather. The Secret Life of Cheese: Crafting Food and Value in America. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Sciences. The Dairy Industry: A Century of Progress. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1999.Google Scholar
Porter, Arthur, Sims, John, and Foreman, Charles. Dairy Cattle in American Agriculture. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1965.Google Scholar
Smith-Howard, Kendra. Pure and Modern Milk: An Environmental History since 1900. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.Google Scholar
USDA Study Team on Organic Farming. Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. Washington, DC: USDA, 1980.Google Scholar
Vine, Anne, and Bateman, David. Organic Farming Systems in England and Wales: Practice, Performance and Implications, Aberystwyth: University College of Wales, 1981.Google Scholar
Aldrich, Lorna, and Blisard, William Noel. “Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology Lessons from the rbST Experience.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 747–01. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA ERS), 1998.Google Scholar
Allen, Anne Wallace. “H.P. Hood Sells Organic Cow Dairy,” Associated Press via the Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT), July 14, 1999.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Hood Goes Organic,” The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT), May 22, 1997.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Organic Excellence.” Dairy Foods 98 (1997): 70.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Dean Foods to Purchase Horizon Organic Holding Corp. for 1.32 Times Revenue,” Weekly Corporate Growth Report, July 7, 2003.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Horizon Organic Draws More Fire.” Dairy Foods 107 (2006): 16.Google Scholar
Associated Press. “Changes at Hood Mean Layoffs at Organic Cow,” Rutland Herald (Rutland, Vermont), May 31, 1998.Google Scholar
Baecke, Eveline, Rogiers, Geert, De Cock, Lieve, and Huylenbroeck, Guido Van, “The Supply Chain and Conversion to Organic Farming in Belgium or the Story of the Egg and the Chicken.” British Food Journal 104 (2002): 35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barham, Bradford, Brock, Caroline, and Folz, Jeremy. “Organic Dairy Farms in Wisconsin: Prosperous, Modern, and Expansive.” PATS Research Report 16. University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Extension, 2006.Google Scholar
Behrendt, Cathy. “The Organic Milkman Cometh.” Dairy Field 181 (1998): 1, 2831.Google Scholar
Blayney, Don. “The Changing Landscape of U.S. Milk Production.” Statistical Bulletin No. SB-978. Washington, D.C.: USDA, 2002.Google Scholar
Blayney, Don, and Normile, Mary Ann. Economic Effects of U.S. Dairy Policy and Alternative Approaches to Milk Pricing (Report to Congress). Washington, DC: USDA, 2004.Google Scholar
Blobaum, Roger (uncredited). “A South Dakota Farm.” Organic Farming Yearbook of Agriculture. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1975.Google Scholar
Broberg, Oskar. “Labeling the Good: Alternative Visions and Organic Branding in Sweden in the Late Twentieth Century,” Enterprise & Society 11, no. 4 (2010): 811838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buck, Daniel, Getz, Christina, and Guthman, Julie. “Form Farm to Table: The Organic Vegetable Commodity Chain of Northern California.” Sociologica Ruralis 37, no. 1 (1997): 320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burros, Marian. “Developing a Taste for Organic Milk,” The New York Times, October 30, 1996.Google Scholar
Campbell, Dan. “Cream of the CROPP,” Rural Cooperatives 72 (May/June 2005): 1519.Google Scholar
Clapp, Roger. “Organic Cow Recruiting More Farms,” Agriview, November 1, 1995.Google Scholar
Cornucopia Institute. “Organic Valley Halts Milk Purchases with Texas Dairy,” Cornucopia News, July 22, 2008. http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/07/organic-valley-halts-milk-purchases-with-texas-dairy/, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Cornucopia Institute. “Nation’s Largest Corporate Dairy Sues Organic Farmer-Owned Cooperative,” Cornucopia News, July 16, 2012. http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/07/nations-largest-corporate-dairy-sues-organic-farmer-owned-cooperative/, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Cornucopia Institute. “Horizon ‘Organic’ Factory Farm Accused of Improprieties, Again.” Cornucopia News, February 14, 2014. http://www.cornucopia.org/2014/02/horizon-organic-factory-farm-accused-improprieties/, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Cranfield, John, Henson, Spencer, and Holliday, James. “The Motives, Benefits, and Problems of Conversion to Organic Production.” Agriculture and Human Values 27, no. 3 (2009): 291306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CROPP Cooperative. “Organic Valley Dairy Pool.” https://www.farmers.coop/producer-pools/dairy-pool, last accessed October 10, 2014.Google Scholar
Dalton, Timothy, Parsons, Robert, Kersbergen, Richard, Rogers, Glenn, Kauppila, Dennis, McCrory, Lisa, Bragg., Lisa and Wang, Qingbin. “A Comparative Analysis of Organic Dairy Farms in Maine and Vermont: Farm Financial Information from 2004 to 2006.” Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Bulletin 851, 2008.Google Scholar
Darnhofer, Ika, Schneeberger, Walter, and Freyer, Bernhard. “Converting or Not Converting to Organic Farming in Austria: Farmer Types and Their Rationale.” Agriculture and Human Values 22, no. 1 (2005): 3952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dimitri, Carolyn, and Green, Catherine. “Recent Growth Patterns in the U.S. Organic Foods Market.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 777. Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 2002.Google Scholar
Dimitri, Carolyn, and Venezia, Kathryn. “Retail and Consumer Aspects of the Organic Milk Market.” ERS Outlook Report LDPM-155-01. Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 2007.Google Scholar
Dimitri, Carolyn, and Oberholtzer, Lydia. “Marketing U.S. Organic Foods.” Economic Information Bulletin 58. Washington. D.C.: USDA ERS, 2009. Dobbs, Thomas L. “Price Premiums for Organic Crops.” Choices 13, no. 2 (1998): 3941.Google Scholar
Duram, L.A. “Factors in Organic Farmers’ Decision Making: Diversity, Challenge Obstacles.” American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 14 (1999): 29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durstewitz, Jeff. “Marketing Ben & Jerry’s Equals Fun.” Yearbook of Agriculture, 145148. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998.Google Scholar
Dryer, Jerry. “Organic Opportunities.” Dairy Foods 98 (1997): 27.Google Scholar
Eisen, Marc. “Natural Allies.” Isthmus (Madison, Wisconsin), October 19, 2007.Google Scholar
Esterson, Emily. “How Can I Dominate My Competitors?” Inc., October 20,1998, 162163.Google Scholar
Fairweather, John. “Understanding How Farmers Choose Between Organic and Conventional Production: Results From New Zealand and Policy Implications.” Agriculture and Human Values 16, no. 1 (1999): 5163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feder, Barnaby. “In a Quirky Market for Milk, Consumers and Farms Lose,” The New York Times, November 30, 1996.Google Scholar
Feenstra, Gail. “Is BGH Sustainable? The Consumer Perspective.” In The Dairy Debate: Consequences of Bovine Growth Hormone and Rotational Grazing Technologies, edited by Liebhardt, William C.. Davis: University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, 1993.Google Scholar
Flaten, Ola, Lien, Gudbrand, Ebbesvik, Martha, Koesling, Matthias, and Valle, Paul S.. “Do the New Organic Producers Differ from the ‘Old Guard’? Empirical Results from Norwegian Dairy Farming.” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 21 (2006): 174182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garry, Michael. “The Milk Dilemma.” Progressive Grocer, May 1994, 8590.Google Scholar
Gershuny, Grace. “Conflicts over Organic Standards. Part I: History of Organic Standard-setting and Controversies,” Chelsea Green Publishing (blog), September 23, 2010, http://chelseagreen.com/blogs/gracegershuny/2010/09/23/conflicts-over-organic-standards%E2%80%93-part-i-history-of-organic-standard-setting-and-controversies.Google Scholar
Glaser, Lewrene, and Thompson, Gary D.. “Demand for Organic and Conventional Beverage Milk.” Presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meetings, Vancouver, June 29–July 1, 2000.Google Scholar
Gold, Mary. “Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms.” Special Reference Briefs Series SRB 99–02. Washington, D.C: National Agricultural Library (USDA), 2007.Google Scholar
Gould, Brian. “Understanding Dairy Markets: Announced Class III Price (1996).” University of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, http://future.aae.wisc.edu/data/monthly_values/by_area/3?area=US, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Greene, Catherine, and Kremen, Amy. “U.S. Organic Farming in 2000–2001: Adoption of Certified Systems.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 780, Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 2003.Google Scholar
Gudgeon, Helen Jo. “CROPP: A Cooperative Approach to Organic Dairying.” The Natural Farmer, Fall 1997, 22.Google Scholar
Guptill, Amy. “Exploring the Conventionalization of Organic Dairy: Trends and Counter-Trends in Upstate New York.” Agriculture and Human Values 26, no. 1–2 (2009): 2942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthman, J. “The Trouble with ‘Organic Lite’ in California: A Rejoinder to the ‘Conventionalisation’ Debate.” Sociologia Ruralis 44, no. 3 (2004): 301316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Alan, and Mogyorody, Veronika. “Organic Farmers in Ontario: An Examination of the Conventionalization Argument.” Sociologia Ruralis 41, no. 4 (2001): 399422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harsha, Keagan, “Vt. Farmers Hurt by Suffering Organic Milk Sales.” WCAX News, December 11, 2009. http://www.wcax.com/story/11664493/vt-farmers-hurt-by-suffering-organic-milk-sales?clienttype=mobile&redirected=true, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Hemsted, Louise. “Organic Dairy in the United States,” In Handbook of Organic Food Processing and Production. 2nd ed., edited by Wright, Simon and McCrea, Diane, 122131. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000.Google Scholar
Higgins, Kevin. “Horizon’s Organic Growth.” Marketing Management 9, no. 4 (2000): 1013.Google Scholar
Howard, Philip. “Consolidation in the North American Organic Food Processing Sector, 1997 to 2007.” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture & Food 16, no. 1 (2009): 1330.Google Scholar
Jesse, Ed, and Cropp, Bob, “Basic Milk Pricing Concepts for Dairy Farmers.” Report A3379, Madison: University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, 2008.Google Scholar
Johnson, Brian. “Organic Milk Makes a Splash in Milk Market.” Organic & Natural News (October 1998): 4344.Google Scholar
Keese, Susan. “Organic Dairy Farmers Struggle with Decreasing Demand.” VPR News. Vermont Public Radio, August 6, 2009.Google Scholar
Kittredge, Jack. “Pioneering with the Organic Cow.” The Natural Farmer, Fall f2, no. 24 (1997): 1617.Google Scholar
Krug, Deborah. “Production Characteristics of Organic Dairy Farms in Vermont and Maine.” Masters’ thesis, University of Vermont, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, 2015.Google Scholar
Lockeretz, William. “Organic Field Crop Production in the Midwestern United States.” In Biological Husbandry: A Scientific Approach to Organic Farming, edited by Stonehouse, Bernard, 266. London: Butterworths, 1981.Google Scholar
Lockeretz, William. “What Explains the Rise of Organic Farming?” In Organic Farming: An International History, edited by Lockeretz, William, 18. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lockeretz, William, Shearer, Georgia, and Kohl, Daniel H.. “Organic Farming in the Corn Belt.” Science 211, no. 4482 (1981): 540547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lund, Vonne, Hemlin, Sven, and Lockeretz, William. “Organic Livestock Production as Viewed by Swedish Farmers and Organic Initiators.” Agriculture and Human Values 19, no. 3 (2002): 255268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manchester, Alden, and Blayney, Don. “Milk Pricing in the United States.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 761. Washington D.C.: USDA ERS, 2001.Google Scholar
McBride, William, and Greene, Catherine. “Organic Dairy Sector Evolves to Meet Changing Demand,” Amber Waves 8, Washington D.C.: USDA ERS, March 2010, 2833. http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2010-march/organic-dairy-sector-evolves-to-meet-changing-demand.aspx#.VoqIrRUrLRk, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
McCrory, Lisa. “The Bottom Line in Producing Organic Milk: The Economics of Producing Organic Milk.” Richmond, VT: NOFA-VT, March 2, 1999.Google Scholar
McCrory, Lisa. “An Economic Comparison of Organic and Conventional Dairy Production, and Estimations on the Cost of Transitioning to Organic Production.” Richmond, VT: NOFA-VT, May 2001.Google Scholar
McGuirk, Anya, and Kaiser, Harry. “bst & Milk: Benefit or Bane?” Choices 6, no. 1 (1991): 2026.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, Caragh. “Challenges Facing the Organic Milk Industry.” Presentation at the Agricultural Outlook Forum, Arlington, VA, February 17, 2006.Google Scholar
Michelsen, Johannes. “Organic Farming in a Regulatory Perspective. The Danish Case.” Sociologia Ruralis 41, no. 1 (2001): 6284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Midmore, Peter, Padel, Susanne, McCalman, Heather, Isherwood, Jon, Fowler, Susan, and Lamkpin, Nic. “Attitudes towards Conversion to Organic Production Systems: A Study of Farmers in England.” Aberystwyth: University of Wales, 2001.Google Scholar
Northeast Dairy Compact Commission, “Final Decision of the Commission.” Docket Number HEP-97-006. Re: Petition of The Organic Cow, LLC. June 7, 2000.Google Scholar
Nicholson, Charles, and Fiddaman, Thomas. “Dairy Policy and Price Volatility.” Proceedings of the 21st International Conference of the Systems Dynamics Society. New York, NY, July 20, 2003.Google Scholar
NOFA-VT. “Guidelines for Dairy Farms Making the Transition to Certified Organic Milk Production.” Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance. http://www.nodpa.com/NOFA-VT_Trasition_Guidelines.pdf, last accessed July 1, 2014.Google Scholar
NOFA-VT. “2013 Statistics on Certified Organic Agriculture in Vermont.” Richmond, Vermont, 2013. http://nofavt.org/sites/default/files/2013%20Statistics.pdf, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
O’Hara, Jeffrey, and Parsons, Robert. “The Economic Value of Organic Dairy Farms in Vermont and Minnesota.” Journal of Dairy Science 96, no. 9 (2013): 61176126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organic Trade Association (OTA). “Market Analysis: State of the Organic Industry 2015.” https://www.ota.com/resources/market-analysis, accessed August 20, 2015.Google Scholar
Padel, Susanne. “Conversion to Organic Farming: A Typical Example of the Diffusion of an Innovation?” Sociologia Ruralis 41, no. 1 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Padel, Susanne. “Conversion to Organic Milk Production: The Change Process and Farmers’ Information Needs.” Ph.D. thesis, Aberystwyth University, Institute of Rural Studies, 2002.Google Scholar
Padel, Susanne. “Values of Organic Producers Converting at Different Times: Results of a Focus Group Study in Five European Countries.” International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology 7, nos. 1/2 (2008): 6377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, Robert. “Vermont’s Dairy Sector: Is There a Sustainable Future for the 800 Lb. Gorilla?” Opportunities for Agriculture Working Paper Series 1 (4), Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies, 2000.Google Scholar
Parsons, Robert. “New Survey Provides Snapshot of Vermont Dairy Industry.” Agriview 66, no. 21 (2002): 10.Google Scholar
Paul, Noel. “Big Firms Crave Taste of Organic Milk’s Success,” Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), September 15, 2003.Google Scholar
Pitman, Lynn. “Co-ops can Thrive in Uncertain Times.” Rural Cooperatives 77 (January/February 2010): 19–21, 38.Google Scholar
Pollan, Michael. “Behind the Organic-Industrial Complex,” The New York Times (NY, NY), May 13, 2001.Google Scholar
Rogers, David. “Impacts of Organic Dairy Farming in Vermont.” Written Testimony for the Hearing on Economic Impacts of Production, Processing and Marketing Organic Agriculture Products. Montpelier, Vermont, April 18, 2007. http://nofavt.org/assets/pdf/organic_impact.pdf, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
Saucier, Olivia, and Parsons, Robert. “Refusing to ‘Push the Cows’: The Rise of Organic Dairying in The Northeast and Midwest.” Agricultural History 88, no. 2 (2014): 237261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmid, Otto. “Development of Standards for Organic Farming.” In Organic Farming: An International History, edited by Lockeretz, William, 152174. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siemon, George. “Organic dairy market also hurt by low prices.” Rural Cooperatives 77 (January/February 2010): 15, 38.Google Scholar
Smith-Howard, Kendra. “Antibiotics and Agricultural Change: Purifying Milk and Protecting Health in the Postwar Era.” Agricultural History 84, no. 3 (2010): 327351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, G. W., and Pirog, Rich. “Values-Based Supply Chains: Strategies for Agrifood Enterprises of the Middle.” In Food and the Mid-Level Farm: Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle, edited by Lyson, Thomas A., Stevenson, G.W., and Welsh, Rick, 119146. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, G.W. “Values-based Food Supply Chains: Organic Valley.” UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, June 2009.Google Scholar
United Nations–Word Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future (also known as Brundtland Report). Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks, May 1987. http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
USDA Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Changes in the Dairy Industry United States, 1920–50. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1950. http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Vermont/ Google Scholar
USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service. “Cooperatives in the Dairy Industry.” Cooperative Information Report 1, Section 16. Washington, D.C.: USDA Rural Development, September 2005.Google Scholar
Vermont Farm to Plate. “Farm to Plate Strategic Plan.” See Section 3.3 Food Production: Dairy, and Section 3.4: Food Processing and Manufacturing. Montpelier: Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, May 2013. www.vtfoodatlas.com/plan, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
Vogt, Gunter. “The Origins of Organic Farming.” In Organic Farming: An International History, edited by Lockeretz, William, 929. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weimar, Mark, and Blayney, Don. “Landmarks in the U.S. Dairy Industry.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 694. Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 1994.Google Scholar
Wernick, Sarah, and Lockeretz, William. “Motivations and Practices of Organic Farmers.” Compost Science 18, no. 6 (1977): 2024.Google Scholar
WhiteWave Foods Company. “WhiteWave Spin-Off from Dean Foods Completed.” News release published June 26, 2013. http://www.whitewave.com/news/north-america/whitewave-spin-off-from-dean-foods-completed, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
• The authors interviewed 16 Organic Cow farmers in 2011 and 2012, both in person and by telephone.Google Scholar
• Peter and Bunny Flint (founders and owners of The Organic Cow of Vermont), March 10, 2012, in Chelsea, VT.Google Scholar
• Enid Wonnacott (executive director of NOFA-VT), April 11, 2012, in Richmond, VT.Google Scholar
• Bob and Deborah Messing (dairy buyers at Hunger Mountain Co-op), May 16, 2012, in Montpelier, VT.Google Scholar
• Lisa McCrory (dairy consultant), November 15, 2012, by telephone.Google Scholar
• Brent Beidler (Organic Valley farmer representative), December 11, 2012, by telephone.Google Scholar
Albers, Jan. Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Beeman, Randal, and Pritchard, James. A Green and Permanent Land. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001.Google Scholar
Belasco, Warren. Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Paperbacks, 2007.Google Scholar
Bevan, Teleri. They Dared to Make a Difference. Aberystwyth: FBA Publications, 2009.Google Scholar
Carolan, Michael. The Sociology of Food and Agriculture. New York: Routledge, 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conford, Philip. The Origins of the Organic Movement. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 2001.Google Scholar
Danbom, David. Born in the Country: A History of Rural America, 1st ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day-Farnsworth, Lindsey, McCown, Brent, Miller, Michelle, and Pfeiffer, Anne. Scaling Up: Meeting the Demand for Local Food. Madison, WI: Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, 2009.Google Scholar
Dean Foods. 2007 Annual Report: Fortifying our Future. Dallas: Dean Foods, 2008. http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/88/881/88165/items/288898/Fiscal2007AnnualReportWrapFINAL.PDF, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Dupuis, E. Melanie. Nature’s Perfect Food. New York: New York University Press, 2002.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, Deborah. Every Farm a Factory: The Industrial Ideal in American Agriculture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, Shane. Trucking Country: The Road to America’s Wal-Mart Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Henderson, J. Lloyd. The Fluid Milk Industry. Westport, CT: The Avi Publishing Company, 1971.Google Scholar
Kastel, Mark. Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk. Cornucopia, WI: Cornucopia Institute, 2006.Google Scholar
Manchester, Alden. The Public Role in the Dairy Economy: Why and How Governments Intervene in the Milk Business. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983.Google Scholar
McCroskey, Sammy, Fallert, Richard, and Whitted, Stephen. Changes in Dairying. Experiment Station Report B844. Columbia: University of Missouri College of Agriculture, 1966, 1011.Google Scholar
Mendelson, Anne. Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk through the Ages. New York: Knopf, 2008.Google Scholar
Mendenhall, Katherine. NOFA-NY Organic Dairy Handbook. Cobleskill, NY: NOFA-NY, 2009.Google Scholar
Paxson, Heather. The Secret Life of Cheese: Crafting Food and Value in America. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Sciences. The Dairy Industry: A Century of Progress. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1999.Google Scholar
Porter, Arthur, Sims, John, and Foreman, Charles. Dairy Cattle in American Agriculture. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1965.Google Scholar
Smith-Howard, Kendra. Pure and Modern Milk: An Environmental History since 1900. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.Google Scholar
USDA Study Team on Organic Farming. Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming. Washington, DC: USDA, 1980.Google Scholar
Vine, Anne, and Bateman, David. Organic Farming Systems in England and Wales: Practice, Performance and Implications, Aberystwyth: University College of Wales, 1981.Google Scholar
Aldrich, Lorna, and Blisard, William Noel. “Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology Lessons from the rbST Experience.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 747–01. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA ERS), 1998.Google Scholar
Allen, Anne Wallace. “H.P. Hood Sells Organic Cow Dairy,” Associated Press via the Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT), July 14, 1999.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Hood Goes Organic,” The Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT), May 22, 1997.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Organic Excellence.” Dairy Foods 98 (1997): 70.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Dean Foods to Purchase Horizon Organic Holding Corp. for 1.32 Times Revenue,” Weekly Corporate Growth Report, July 7, 2003.Google Scholar
Anonymous. “Horizon Organic Draws More Fire.” Dairy Foods 107 (2006): 16.Google Scholar
Associated Press. “Changes at Hood Mean Layoffs at Organic Cow,” Rutland Herald (Rutland, Vermont), May 31, 1998.Google Scholar
Baecke, Eveline, Rogiers, Geert, De Cock, Lieve, and Huylenbroeck, Guido Van, “The Supply Chain and Conversion to Organic Farming in Belgium or the Story of the Egg and the Chicken.” British Food Journal 104 (2002): 35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barham, Bradford, Brock, Caroline, and Folz, Jeremy. “Organic Dairy Farms in Wisconsin: Prosperous, Modern, and Expansive.” PATS Research Report 16. University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Extension, 2006.Google Scholar
Behrendt, Cathy. “The Organic Milkman Cometh.” Dairy Field 181 (1998): 1, 2831.Google Scholar
Blayney, Don. “The Changing Landscape of U.S. Milk Production.” Statistical Bulletin No. SB-978. Washington, D.C.: USDA, 2002.Google Scholar
Blayney, Don, and Normile, Mary Ann. Economic Effects of U.S. Dairy Policy and Alternative Approaches to Milk Pricing (Report to Congress). Washington, DC: USDA, 2004.Google Scholar
Blobaum, Roger (uncredited). “A South Dakota Farm.” Organic Farming Yearbook of Agriculture. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1975.Google Scholar
Broberg, Oskar. “Labeling the Good: Alternative Visions and Organic Branding in Sweden in the Late Twentieth Century,” Enterprise & Society 11, no. 4 (2010): 811838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buck, Daniel, Getz, Christina, and Guthman, Julie. “Form Farm to Table: The Organic Vegetable Commodity Chain of Northern California.” Sociologica Ruralis 37, no. 1 (1997): 320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burros, Marian. “Developing a Taste for Organic Milk,” The New York Times, October 30, 1996.Google Scholar
Campbell, Dan. “Cream of the CROPP,” Rural Cooperatives 72 (May/June 2005): 1519.Google Scholar
Clapp, Roger. “Organic Cow Recruiting More Farms,” Agriview, November 1, 1995.Google Scholar
Cornucopia Institute. “Organic Valley Halts Milk Purchases with Texas Dairy,” Cornucopia News, July 22, 2008. http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/07/organic-valley-halts-milk-purchases-with-texas-dairy/, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Cornucopia Institute. “Nation’s Largest Corporate Dairy Sues Organic Farmer-Owned Cooperative,” Cornucopia News, July 16, 2012. http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/07/nations-largest-corporate-dairy-sues-organic-farmer-owned-cooperative/, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Cornucopia Institute. “Horizon ‘Organic’ Factory Farm Accused of Improprieties, Again.” Cornucopia News, February 14, 2014. http://www.cornucopia.org/2014/02/horizon-organic-factory-farm-accused-improprieties/, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Cranfield, John, Henson, Spencer, and Holliday, James. “The Motives, Benefits, and Problems of Conversion to Organic Production.” Agriculture and Human Values 27, no. 3 (2009): 291306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CROPP Cooperative. “Organic Valley Dairy Pool.” https://www.farmers.coop/producer-pools/dairy-pool, last accessed October 10, 2014.Google Scholar
Dalton, Timothy, Parsons, Robert, Kersbergen, Richard, Rogers, Glenn, Kauppila, Dennis, McCrory, Lisa, Bragg., Lisa and Wang, Qingbin. “A Comparative Analysis of Organic Dairy Farms in Maine and Vermont: Farm Financial Information from 2004 to 2006.” Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Bulletin 851, 2008.Google Scholar
Darnhofer, Ika, Schneeberger, Walter, and Freyer, Bernhard. “Converting or Not Converting to Organic Farming in Austria: Farmer Types and Their Rationale.” Agriculture and Human Values 22, no. 1 (2005): 3952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dimitri, Carolyn, and Green, Catherine. “Recent Growth Patterns in the U.S. Organic Foods Market.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 777. Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 2002.Google Scholar
Dimitri, Carolyn, and Venezia, Kathryn. “Retail and Consumer Aspects of the Organic Milk Market.” ERS Outlook Report LDPM-155-01. Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 2007.Google Scholar
Dimitri, Carolyn, and Oberholtzer, Lydia. “Marketing U.S. Organic Foods.” Economic Information Bulletin 58. Washington. D.C.: USDA ERS, 2009. Dobbs, Thomas L. “Price Premiums for Organic Crops.” Choices 13, no. 2 (1998): 3941.Google Scholar
Duram, L.A. “Factors in Organic Farmers’ Decision Making: Diversity, Challenge Obstacles.” American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 14 (1999): 29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durstewitz, Jeff. “Marketing Ben & Jerry’s Equals Fun.” Yearbook of Agriculture, 145148. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998.Google Scholar
Dryer, Jerry. “Organic Opportunities.” Dairy Foods 98 (1997): 27.Google Scholar
Eisen, Marc. “Natural Allies.” Isthmus (Madison, Wisconsin), October 19, 2007.Google Scholar
Esterson, Emily. “How Can I Dominate My Competitors?” Inc., October 20,1998, 162163.Google Scholar
Fairweather, John. “Understanding How Farmers Choose Between Organic and Conventional Production: Results From New Zealand and Policy Implications.” Agriculture and Human Values 16, no. 1 (1999): 5163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feder, Barnaby. “In a Quirky Market for Milk, Consumers and Farms Lose,” The New York Times, November 30, 1996.Google Scholar
Feenstra, Gail. “Is BGH Sustainable? The Consumer Perspective.” In The Dairy Debate: Consequences of Bovine Growth Hormone and Rotational Grazing Technologies, edited by Liebhardt, William C.. Davis: University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, 1993.Google Scholar
Flaten, Ola, Lien, Gudbrand, Ebbesvik, Martha, Koesling, Matthias, and Valle, Paul S.. “Do the New Organic Producers Differ from the ‘Old Guard’? Empirical Results from Norwegian Dairy Farming.” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 21 (2006): 174182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garry, Michael. “The Milk Dilemma.” Progressive Grocer, May 1994, 8590.Google Scholar
Gershuny, Grace. “Conflicts over Organic Standards. Part I: History of Organic Standard-setting and Controversies,” Chelsea Green Publishing (blog), September 23, 2010, http://chelseagreen.com/blogs/gracegershuny/2010/09/23/conflicts-over-organic-standards%E2%80%93-part-i-history-of-organic-standard-setting-and-controversies.Google Scholar
Glaser, Lewrene, and Thompson, Gary D.. “Demand for Organic and Conventional Beverage Milk.” Presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meetings, Vancouver, June 29–July 1, 2000.Google Scholar
Gold, Mary. “Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms.” Special Reference Briefs Series SRB 99–02. Washington, D.C: National Agricultural Library (USDA), 2007.Google Scholar
Gould, Brian. “Understanding Dairy Markets: Announced Class III Price (1996).” University of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, http://future.aae.wisc.edu/data/monthly_values/by_area/3?area=US, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Greene, Catherine, and Kremen, Amy. “U.S. Organic Farming in 2000–2001: Adoption of Certified Systems.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 780, Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 2003.Google Scholar
Gudgeon, Helen Jo. “CROPP: A Cooperative Approach to Organic Dairying.” The Natural Farmer, Fall 1997, 22.Google Scholar
Guptill, Amy. “Exploring the Conventionalization of Organic Dairy: Trends and Counter-Trends in Upstate New York.” Agriculture and Human Values 26, no. 1–2 (2009): 2942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthman, J. “The Trouble with ‘Organic Lite’ in California: A Rejoinder to the ‘Conventionalisation’ Debate.” Sociologia Ruralis 44, no. 3 (2004): 301316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Alan, and Mogyorody, Veronika. “Organic Farmers in Ontario: An Examination of the Conventionalization Argument.” Sociologia Ruralis 41, no. 4 (2001): 399422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harsha, Keagan, “Vt. Farmers Hurt by Suffering Organic Milk Sales.” WCAX News, December 11, 2009. http://www.wcax.com/story/11664493/vt-farmers-hurt-by-suffering-organic-milk-sales?clienttype=mobile&redirected=true, last accessed December 23, 2015.Google Scholar
Hemsted, Louise. “Organic Dairy in the United States,” In Handbook of Organic Food Processing and Production. 2nd ed., edited by Wright, Simon and McCrea, Diane, 122131. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000.Google Scholar
Higgins, Kevin. “Horizon’s Organic Growth.” Marketing Management 9, no. 4 (2000): 1013.Google Scholar
Howard, Philip. “Consolidation in the North American Organic Food Processing Sector, 1997 to 2007.” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture & Food 16, no. 1 (2009): 1330.Google Scholar
Jesse, Ed, and Cropp, Bob, “Basic Milk Pricing Concepts for Dairy Farmers.” Report A3379, Madison: University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, 2008.Google Scholar
Johnson, Brian. “Organic Milk Makes a Splash in Milk Market.” Organic & Natural News (October 1998): 4344.Google Scholar
Keese, Susan. “Organic Dairy Farmers Struggle with Decreasing Demand.” VPR News. Vermont Public Radio, August 6, 2009.Google Scholar
Kittredge, Jack. “Pioneering with the Organic Cow.” The Natural Farmer, Fall f2, no. 24 (1997): 1617.Google Scholar
Krug, Deborah. “Production Characteristics of Organic Dairy Farms in Vermont and Maine.” Masters’ thesis, University of Vermont, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, 2015.Google Scholar
Lockeretz, William. “Organic Field Crop Production in the Midwestern United States.” In Biological Husbandry: A Scientific Approach to Organic Farming, edited by Stonehouse, Bernard, 266. London: Butterworths, 1981.Google Scholar
Lockeretz, William. “What Explains the Rise of Organic Farming?” In Organic Farming: An International History, edited by Lockeretz, William, 18. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lockeretz, William, Shearer, Georgia, and Kohl, Daniel H.. “Organic Farming in the Corn Belt.” Science 211, no. 4482 (1981): 540547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lund, Vonne, Hemlin, Sven, and Lockeretz, William. “Organic Livestock Production as Viewed by Swedish Farmers and Organic Initiators.” Agriculture and Human Values 19, no. 3 (2002): 255268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manchester, Alden, and Blayney, Don. “Milk Pricing in the United States.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 761. Washington D.C.: USDA ERS, 2001.Google Scholar
McBride, William, and Greene, Catherine. “Organic Dairy Sector Evolves to Meet Changing Demand,” Amber Waves 8, Washington D.C.: USDA ERS, March 2010, 2833. http://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2010-march/organic-dairy-sector-evolves-to-meet-changing-demand.aspx#.VoqIrRUrLRk, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
McCrory, Lisa. “The Bottom Line in Producing Organic Milk: The Economics of Producing Organic Milk.” Richmond, VT: NOFA-VT, March 2, 1999.Google Scholar
McCrory, Lisa. “An Economic Comparison of Organic and Conventional Dairy Production, and Estimations on the Cost of Transitioning to Organic Production.” Richmond, VT: NOFA-VT, May 2001.Google Scholar
McGuirk, Anya, and Kaiser, Harry. “bst & Milk: Benefit or Bane?” Choices 6, no. 1 (1991): 2026.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, Caragh. “Challenges Facing the Organic Milk Industry.” Presentation at the Agricultural Outlook Forum, Arlington, VA, February 17, 2006.Google Scholar
Michelsen, Johannes. “Organic Farming in a Regulatory Perspective. The Danish Case.” Sociologia Ruralis 41, no. 1 (2001): 6284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Midmore, Peter, Padel, Susanne, McCalman, Heather, Isherwood, Jon, Fowler, Susan, and Lamkpin, Nic. “Attitudes towards Conversion to Organic Production Systems: A Study of Farmers in England.” Aberystwyth: University of Wales, 2001.Google Scholar
Northeast Dairy Compact Commission, “Final Decision of the Commission.” Docket Number HEP-97-006. Re: Petition of The Organic Cow, LLC. June 7, 2000.Google Scholar
Nicholson, Charles, and Fiddaman, Thomas. “Dairy Policy and Price Volatility.” Proceedings of the 21st International Conference of the Systems Dynamics Society. New York, NY, July 20, 2003.Google Scholar
NOFA-VT. “Guidelines for Dairy Farms Making the Transition to Certified Organic Milk Production.” Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance. http://www.nodpa.com/NOFA-VT_Trasition_Guidelines.pdf, last accessed July 1, 2014.Google Scholar
NOFA-VT. “2013 Statistics on Certified Organic Agriculture in Vermont.” Richmond, Vermont, 2013. http://nofavt.org/sites/default/files/2013%20Statistics.pdf, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
O’Hara, Jeffrey, and Parsons, Robert. “The Economic Value of Organic Dairy Farms in Vermont and Minnesota.” Journal of Dairy Science 96, no. 9 (2013): 61176126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Organic Trade Association (OTA). “Market Analysis: State of the Organic Industry 2015.” https://www.ota.com/resources/market-analysis, accessed August 20, 2015.Google Scholar
Padel, Susanne. “Conversion to Organic Farming: A Typical Example of the Diffusion of an Innovation?” Sociologia Ruralis 41, no. 1 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Padel, Susanne. “Conversion to Organic Milk Production: The Change Process and Farmers’ Information Needs.” Ph.D. thesis, Aberystwyth University, Institute of Rural Studies, 2002.Google Scholar
Padel, Susanne. “Values of Organic Producers Converting at Different Times: Results of a Focus Group Study in Five European Countries.” International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology 7, nos. 1/2 (2008): 6377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, Robert. “Vermont’s Dairy Sector: Is There a Sustainable Future for the 800 Lb. Gorilla?” Opportunities for Agriculture Working Paper Series 1 (4), Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies, 2000.Google Scholar
Parsons, Robert. “New Survey Provides Snapshot of Vermont Dairy Industry.” Agriview 66, no. 21 (2002): 10.Google Scholar
Paul, Noel. “Big Firms Crave Taste of Organic Milk’s Success,” Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), September 15, 2003.Google Scholar
Pitman, Lynn. “Co-ops can Thrive in Uncertain Times.” Rural Cooperatives 77 (January/February 2010): 19–21, 38.Google Scholar
Pollan, Michael. “Behind the Organic-Industrial Complex,” The New York Times (NY, NY), May 13, 2001.Google Scholar
Rogers, David. “Impacts of Organic Dairy Farming in Vermont.” Written Testimony for the Hearing on Economic Impacts of Production, Processing and Marketing Organic Agriculture Products. Montpelier, Vermont, April 18, 2007. http://nofavt.org/assets/pdf/organic_impact.pdf, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
Saucier, Olivia, and Parsons, Robert. “Refusing to ‘Push the Cows’: The Rise of Organic Dairying in The Northeast and Midwest.” Agricultural History 88, no. 2 (2014): 237261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmid, Otto. “Development of Standards for Organic Farming.” In Organic Farming: An International History, edited by Lockeretz, William, 152174. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siemon, George. “Organic dairy market also hurt by low prices.” Rural Cooperatives 77 (January/February 2010): 15, 38.Google Scholar
Smith-Howard, Kendra. “Antibiotics and Agricultural Change: Purifying Milk and Protecting Health in the Postwar Era.” Agricultural History 84, no. 3 (2010): 327351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, G. W., and Pirog, Rich. “Values-Based Supply Chains: Strategies for Agrifood Enterprises of the Middle.” In Food and the Mid-Level Farm: Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle, edited by Lyson, Thomas A., Stevenson, G.W., and Welsh, Rick, 119146. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, G.W. “Values-based Food Supply Chains: Organic Valley.” UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, June 2009.Google Scholar
United Nations–Word Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future (also known as Brundtland Report). Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks, May 1987. http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
USDA Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Changes in the Dairy Industry United States, 1920–50. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1950. http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Vermont/ Google Scholar
USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service. “Cooperatives in the Dairy Industry.” Cooperative Information Report 1, Section 16. Washington, D.C.: USDA Rural Development, September 2005.Google Scholar
Vermont Farm to Plate. “Farm to Plate Strategic Plan.” See Section 3.3 Food Production: Dairy, and Section 3.4: Food Processing and Manufacturing. Montpelier: Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, May 2013. www.vtfoodatlas.com/plan, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
Vogt, Gunter. “The Origins of Organic Farming.” In Organic Farming: An International History, edited by Lockeretz, William, 929. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weimar, Mark, and Blayney, Don. “Landmarks in the U.S. Dairy Industry.” Agriculture Information Bulletin 694. Washington, D.C.: USDA ERS, 1994.Google Scholar
Wernick, Sarah, and Lockeretz, William. “Motivations and Practices of Organic Farmers.” Compost Science 18, no. 6 (1977): 2024.Google Scholar
WhiteWave Foods Company. “WhiteWave Spin-Off from Dean Foods Completed.” News release published June 26, 2013. http://www.whitewave.com/news/north-america/whitewave-spin-off-from-dean-foods-completed, last accessed January 4, 2016.Google Scholar
• The authors interviewed 16 Organic Cow farmers in 2011 and 2012, both in person and by telephone.Google Scholar
• Peter and Bunny Flint (founders and owners of The Organic Cow of Vermont), March 10, 2012, in Chelsea, VT.Google Scholar
• Enid Wonnacott (executive director of NOFA-VT), April 11, 2012, in Richmond, VT.Google Scholar
• Bob and Deborah Messing (dairy buyers at Hunger Mountain Co-op), May 16, 2012, in Montpelier, VT.Google Scholar
• Lisa McCrory (dairy consultant), November 15, 2012, by telephone.Google Scholar
• Brent Beidler (Organic Valley farmer representative), December 11, 2012, by telephone.Google Scholar