CO-OP ESTABLISHES TRANSITION FUND

RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt. -- Organic Valley, the nation's largest farmer-owned organic dairy cooperative, has established a transition fund to help small farmers in the Northeast convert their dairy herds to organic production.

nically grown grains and forage, as well as pay for farm and facility audits, all without being able to charge a premium on their milk, Organic Valley officials said.

This has presented a major hurdle for the organic dairy industry, which has faced increasing supply challenges as mainstream demand for their products has grown, they said.

Through a partnership with Stonyfield Farm, one of Organic Valley's largest customers, farmers undergoing organic transition will be paid a premium of $1 per hundredweight above their non-organic milk pay price for the first nine months of organic feeding. For the last 90 days, they will receive $2 per hundredweight above non-organic pay prices, and for the first three months within their regional organic milk "pool," they will receive $1 per hundredweight above the organic payment price.

In the last year, the co-op has brought more than 100,000 new dairy acres into the organic system.