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40 THE RURAL VOICE
behind the board had been that all
milk is pooled and all farmers benefit
equally. "We had to show them we
don't want to throw a monkey
wrench into the whole system, but
we convinced them that if we don't
(produce organic cheeses) then other
people in other jurisdictions will fill
the niche. We'll lose our share."
tie problem was how to go
after the niche market without
losingTthe marketingsystem
Y
that has protected the livelihood of
dairy farmers for three decades.
"None of us want to see that wide-
open, dog-eat-dog world again," said
Zettel, referring to the boom and bust
days before supply management was
brought in.
Naturally, many dairy farmers
were concerned about the move to
separate milk from organic farms.
They worried that having a product
promoted as different from ordinary
milk somehow cast their own product
in a bad light. They feel their product
is already top quality and that any
suggestion there are residues of
antibiotics in their milk is wrong.
Milk from cows treated with
antibiotics must be withheld from the
market. Farmers can be held
responsible for the entire load of milk
(at an average cost of $7,144 a load)
if samples of milk, taken at their
farm, tum out to show drug residues.
There has also never been any
evidence that traces of pesticides
used on crops have shown up in milk.
There is also the concern about
how to reward farmers serving niche
markets without undermining the
principle that producers all receive
the same return for their milk. For
organic milk producers there were
real costs involved in meeting the
certified organic standards of the
Organic Crop Improvement
Association. Those wanting to meet
the standard, had to replace soybean
meal (since there is no soybean meal
certified as organic) with more
expensive roasted certified organic
beans.
Despite problems working
through the initial approvals, things
have run very smoothly in the past
three years, says Bill Rutledge, now
plant manager at Pine River. "DFO
has been very receptive," he says.
Rutledge has sobering news for
those who see big potential for niche