products must be free of growth hormones, antibiotics and synthetic pesticides. To be organic Dairy cows must be able to graze outside in synthetic fertilizer free pastures to get fresh air, exercise and sunshine.

Eric Merklein, a Walpole Planning Commissioner and one of the organizers said that the “loss of dairy farms in Walpole and the area is devastating and encourages farmers to go into organic dairy farming to retain their farms and to revitalize the rural nature of the area.”

 Cindy Westover, another organizer, described the make up of the audience to the speakers saying “that we have local farmers from VT and NH, some completing their transition to organic dairy farming, veterinarians, a grant writer, local and state representatives. We want our farms to remain and to succeed.”

 Tara Sad, NH State Representative from Walpole also spearheaded the meeting to bring together all those who could assist farmers in thinking about how to convert their farms to organic.

Stonyfield Farm representative Nancy Hirshberg, Vice President of Natural Resources, from Londonderry , NH  urged approximately 30 area dairy farmers to consider organic production by saying that “we need more (organic milk ) producers to meet our customer demand.” She said “The need for the organic production of milk is expected to double in the next 5 years.” She reminded the audience that the cost of conventional milk is low, that demand for organic milk is high and that the return to the farmer from organic milk is greater than from conventional milk.  She explained that consumers are demanding more organic products to avoid pesticides because they are aware of their affects on “health conditions, the presence of children and social influences.” Hirshberg said, “Stonyfield wants to get more milk from New England.”

Hirshberg related a brief history of organic farming in NH and said that Stonyfield Farm, now in Londonderry, NH, became an organic farming school in 1983 while located in Wilton, NH. In January 2003 they bought Brown Cow of California and by 2006 were 80% organic. Stonyfield is now the number three yogurt brand in the U.S. and produces 77% of the organic yogurt market. Hirshberg said “…we need more organic milk now and would like to obtain it locally. We don’t want to have to consider suppliers in places like New Zealand because of the shortage of organic milk here.”

In 1997 Stonyfield began working with CROPP (Cooperative Regions of Organic Producer Pools) which cooperatively markets organic products. The co-op started in Wisconsin but now has a Northeast Dairy Pool which started with the University of New Hampshire and three other farms. John Cleary, New England Region Pool Coordinator from Burlington, VT, explained how the cooperative works, member requirements and distributed guidelines for dairy farms making the transition to certified organic milk production. The first requirement is that “Members must be certified organic by a U.S.D.A. Accredited Certification agency. They must produce milk without antibiotics, hormones or synthetic pesticides. And they must provide pasture in season for the herd with a plan in place for significant feed intake.” There are now over 700 CROPP Co-op farm  members in 22 states, over 200 of which are dairy farm members.

Vicky Smith, U.S. Department of Agriculture Certification Inspector spoke to the regulations. She stated that the land and the livestock must be certified and in this transition she said, “The main limiting factor is that no synthetic fertilizer be used on the grazing land.” The transition takes three years from the date of the last fertilizer application that is verified through production records. She also stated that organic seed must be used to plant the grazing land. The herd must not receive any antibiotics or growth hormones. Certification requires an on-site visit and certification is renewed annually. Smith stressed that “Certification is a process and will identify a standard not met and give a time frame for the farmer to ‘fix it’ to come into compliance.” She said that, “It is a friendly process.” Smith offered www.NationalOrganicProducersAlliance.com as an excellent resource for farmers transitioning to organic.

Several area farms, including Stonewall Farm in Keene, The University of New Hampshire in Durham, and Beth and John Haines of Claremont have transitioned to organic methods. The Haines’ spoke positively of the support they received in transitioning to organic which will be complete in March. When asked of problems they encountered, the Haines’ said that they “didn’t have anything dramatic occur. There were a few hoof problems but they were readily solved.”

Stonyfield’s Hirshberg encourages farmers to attend a conference “Understanding Organics: Livestock Management and Health” March 6,7 and 8 at the University of New Hampshire at Durham sponsored by The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont . Visit their webpage www.qmps.vet.cornell.edu/nofa/nofa.html for sign up information and conference brochure. Stonyfield offered to pay registration fees for all those farmers attending today’s meeting.

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