| Farm Name | Organic Valley (CROPP) | |
| Rating |
(4)
|
 |
| Location | La Farge, WI | |
| Products | Full line dairy | |
| Market Area | Nationwide | |
| Web Site | http://organicvalley.coop/ | |
 The
CROPP Cooperative, starting with cheese, was the first nationwide,
commercial organic dairy processor and marketer. Starting with seven
dairy farms, they now have hundreds of farmers in all regions of the
country and manufacturer a full line of products including milk,
butter, cheese, etc. The cooperative also markets milk and other dairy
products to manufacturers as ingredients in processed organic food. In
addition, they package milk for a number of private-label/store brands
around the country. They write:CROPP (Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools) is a farmer-owned cooperative, dedicated to bringing our member-owners’ certified organic products to market under the brand names of Organic Valley Family of Farms for dairy, juice, eggs, produce, and soy, and Organic Prairie for beef, pork, and poultry. In an era where corporations dominate all facets of business including government, global energy, agriculture, and global food supply, CROPP Cooperative serves small farmers and rural community health. Our cooperative was founded to nurture local communities by keeping farmers on the land, farming. |
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| Criteria | Points | Comments |
| Ownership Structure | 90 | Cooperative |
| Milk Supply | 90 | Co-op members |
| Disclosure of Information for Verification | 80 | Partial disclosure |
| Certifier farms | 100 | Most OTCO |
| Certifier processing | 100 | OTCO |
| Cows on pasture time/acreage provided | 100 | Strong/enforced cooperative policy |
| Health and longevity of cows | 100 | Very low cull rate |
| Replacement animals only from organic farms | 75 | Organic animals purchased/minority conventional |
| Antibiotics used on young cattle | 100 | Never |
| Reproductive hormones used | 100 | Never |
| Farm support oversight | 90 | All dairies and visited regularly by staff |
| Outside dairy ingredients purchased | 90 | Almost all from co-op |
| TOTAL SCORE | 1115 |
FOUR COWS (excellent)
|