Organic Foods - What a Crock (or maybe not)

The thought started as I rounded the top of a hill and looked over the beautiful valley at all of the farms lining the roads below. We were in the middle of a three day ride through the Driftless Area of western Wisconsin. For safety,  I always try to maintain an uncommon (for me) focus on situational awareness when I'm riding my motorcycle, avoiding daydreaming or mental distractions that can take my mind off the road, the traffic, or encroaching animals and debris. That's much easier to do in the Driftless, because the ride is typically a long series of curves, switchbacks, and steep hillsides on roads without shoulders, and with hazards lurking around any corner. No time for other thoughts to occupy my attention.

But for miles, by that point, I couldn't help notice that we passed small farm after small farm, most on or over the edge of disrepair. Barns screaming for paint, tractors in various stages of disassembly or reassembly, houses with mismatched siding covering previous scars or rotted window sills. Certainly no evidence of the prosperity I had believed farmers enjoyed over the last several years. Sure, new huge eight wheeled, articulating tractors with multiple iPads and Star Trek style captains chairs could be found everywhere, often taking up most of the road as they moved from field to field. But the personal infrastructure of these farms held no evidence of discretionary income.


I could imagine that it's tough for a family farmer on small acreage to compete with much larger corporate or family farms with their hundreds of acres. Just the economies of scale should tip the scales of cost and productivity. Those were some of my thoughts as we crested the ridge and came upon a heard of cows on the wrong side of the fence. We had just passed one of those small farms, and I could see no other home from which the cows came in close proximity, so I turned back to see if anyone was around to inform. The driveway was littered with old implements and a few vehicles, including what appeared to be the older family pick-up truck parked near the house. Honking my Looney Tunes RoadRunner-like horn to get some attention in the quiet, I saw tired and loose pasture fence leading up to an aging barn with barn doors handing on their misaligned hinges. Easy to imagine the cows testing some of that fence and pushing it over at some point. The small deck outside what looked like it could have been the kitchen door had kids yard toys scattered about, suggesting a young family trying to make a go of it. Eventually, the young farmer and his wife came through the door as though having been disturbed from their lunch, a little confused by the fellow wrapped in motorcycle gear on top of what probably appeared to be a overgrown dirt bike.

"Cows on the road," I shouted.

"Huh?"

I raised the visor of my helmet, realizing that only I could hear what I was saying.

"Don't know if they're yours, but there are cows on the road."

"Oh, okay," he said, as though I'd just told him it was time to shovel some manure. Must not have been the first time.

In the meantime, riding buddy Randy, who had tried not to further disturb the small herd, watched them skedaddle down the road. By the time I caught back up with him, they were nowhere to be seen. As we slowly made our way to the other side of the ridge, we could see some cows running across open fields that were being prepared for planting. That poor farmer was going to have his work cut out for him.

Most of the small farms seemed to be focused on dairy cattle, but again hard to imagine competing against the huge barns filled with hundreds of head of dairy cows that never left the confines of their small space next to the feeding troughs. The small farm cows were probably happier, but the revenue produced by their relatively small volume of milk probably didn't cover the cost of paint or barn and home improvements.

As farms whizzed by, I started to look at the signs that were often posted at the end of some of the drives of those more well cared for. While still small, these farms stood out in the condition of their homes and barns, and the properly parked and what looked to be well maintained equipment. Those signs boasted their participation in a cooperative. Names like Foremost, United, Equity, and Organic Valley. That last one caught my eye, as that and Foremost (the name of an ice cream from the past) were the most common. I've seen Organic Valley milk on the store shelves under the higher priced "organic" section. Those foods labeled "organic" always seemed to be a marketers heaven. Charge much more for what is essentially the same thing is much like what bottled water is to city tap water.  Medical literature does not support claims that organic food is safer or healthier, and claims that it tastes better are also not supported by evidence. But the category is growing. Grocery store aisle's now dedicated to organically grown or processed foods. Entire stores, sometimes. And entire farmers markets. Certifications by the government are required to make the claim.

More importantly, farmers that dedicate themselves to production of organic foods, or in this case organic dairy products, make more money. Researchers found that organic farming is somewhere between 22 percent and 35 percent more profitable than conventional farming (Crowder and Reginald, Washington State University). Wisconsin has more than 1000 certified organic farms, along with California and New York the highest in the country. The market for organic milk in the U.S. is more than $1.5 billion. For livestock, poultry and related products, $3.4 billion.

Maybe the growth of the category is a good thing. It could be a way to sustain the otherwise struggling small family farm, and provide opportunity to the dwindling number of young people interested in farming. Looking at all those quaint farms in those beautiful hills and valleys makes me hope they can be sustained. They remind me of the farms we saw in Switzerland. Quite small, quite modest in technology and equipment, and in Switzerland surely not economic or efficient. That's why the government subsidizes them so heavily, to maintain both the capacity for home grown food, and the atmosphere of the rural environment in such a small country. Better than subsidizing family farms in the U.S., making a more sustainable market for their products seems a better idea.

I'll be buying organic milk from now on.