By Lorraine Heller

2/13/2006 - Two groups representing organic farmers are at loggerheads over
the release of a new report that claims to rate the nation's organic dairy
brands and products.

The report is due to be issued by the Cornucopia Institute, an agricultural
policy research group that supports family-scale farmers.

Cornucopia says its study rates organic dairy brands based on their
adherence to accepted ethical practices and conduct, and aims to "help
discerning consumers and wholesale buyers make better and informed judgments
about comparative on-farm production practices."

But the nation's Organic Trade Association (OTA) says that the manner in
which information was gathered for the report was "not scientific," and
results may therefore be misleading.

Cornucopia's report is based on responses to a survey sent out to organic
dairy farmers.

However, OTA has expressed concern over a sentence in the covering letter
sent along with this survey, which states that "any firm(s) not
participating will be indicated in the survey results, and that will likely
taint the credibility of the organization(s)."

According to the OTA, "this type of threat is counter to good research
practice, and renders the results invalid. Furthermore, such tactics do not
serve the interests of customers, the organic community or farmers
themselves."

For its part, Cornucopia says the report "is a by-product of a five-year
controversy that has been smoldering within the organic industry," and has
accused the OTA of "backroom dealings" that have weakened federal organic
regulations to the benefit of large corporations.

"Since the late 1990s a handful of large industrial-scale dairy operations,
with 2000­6000 animals in factory-farm conditions, have started producing
milk sold as Oorganic.' Among other serious breaches these dairies are
accused of is confining their animals rather than grazing on pasture."

Cornucopia last year filed several complaints with the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA), asking for certain farms to be investigated. These
included farms owned by Dean Foods and Aurora Organic Dairy.

According to Mark Kastel, Cornucopia's senior farm policy analyst, these
large-scale farms may be violating national organic standards, conclusions
drawn through the use of satellite photographs and interviews with former
and current employees.

But the USDA closed all but the last complaint files with no investigation
and no explanation, said Kastel, adding that Cornucopia is currently
considering legal action against the USDA, with the aim of forcing these
investigations.

However, according to the USDA, "Cornucopia's initial allegations were found
to be without substance in light of the National Organic Program pasture
regulations as they are currently written. The last allegation was not
related to dairy pasturing and is currently being investigated."

But Helen Keyes, a Cornucopia board member, says that "even though there have
been numerous meetings and thousands of letters and e-mails from organic
farmers and consumers requesting that the USDA clamp down on these factory
farms, as well as surveys indicating overwhelming support from organic dairy
farmers for enforcement actions against those who are scoffing at federal
organic law, the USDA have done nothing to date."

" This is not a debate of small farmers versus big farmers. It's ethical
farmers versus farmers that are willing to compensate the ethics of organic
farming," Kastel told FoodNavigator-USA.com.

"Some farmers are going to extra effort, many have lower herd production
because of organic constraints, and they are placed at a competitive
disadvantage," he added.

"We hope this report, and our web-based rating tool, will help organic
consumers to 'vote in the marketplace' for brands that truly represent
organic ethics, not just marketing hype."