Signs of the Times: Organic Dairies Watch the Good Times Turn Bad
added 05/31/09
The trend toward organic food consumption is slowing down after years of explosive growth. The nationwide slowdown in organic milk consumption has been especially hard on New England dairy farmers.
According to a recent article published by the New York Times, the contracts of 10 of Maine’s 65 organic dairies will not be renewed by HP Hood, one of the region’s three large processors. In Vermont, 32 dairy farms have closed since Dec. 1, significantly altering the face of New England’s dairy industry.
“We expect to lose a lot more farms this year,” Roger Allbee, Vermont’s secretary of agriculture, told the Times. The newspaper also reports that farmers nationwide have been told to cut milk production by as much as 20 percent, and that many are talking of shutting down.
Click here for the complete article from the New York Times.
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