When consumers pay top dollar for organic milk, they know they’re getting dairy that’s free of synthetic growth hormones, pesticides and antibiotics. Now there’s a move to ensure cows are feeding on plenty of fresh grass if producers want to label the milk as organic.
Mark Kastel visited Frank Coelho’s farm this spring when he was doing the investigation of the Fagundes Brothers dairy near Modesto. While Fagundes Brothers were confining their 3000 cows in feedlots that were truly filthy (see our photo gallery) the Coelho family had their 450 cows out on grass — proving you can do organics “right” on a large scale. Here is an audio clip of Frank Coelho talking about the organic milk industry in California and his family’s story in the Central Valley Business Times. During the interview, Mr. Coelho discusses how organic farmers say they are being squeezed out of business by large corporations and rising operating costs.
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