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he was getting for his milk was nowhere close to a break-even point.
He would require a large subsidy to maintain that price, more than he
was willing to put in himself.
Meanwhile, his milk was winning top awards for quality. He discovered
that there were other small dairy farmers nearby who were also winning
awards for their products, and were also facing the same situation of
losing money. As he explains, “We had to think outside the box.” Why,
he wondered, did they have to put their superior milk in with lesser
quality milk, and get a bottom rate price? Dr. Simon decided that the
high-quality local farmers needed to band together and segregate
their milk from the rest, process it separately, bottle it, and market it
themselves under their own label. And so the Hudson Valley Fresh brand
was conceived.
Hudson Valley Fresh is a non-profit dairy co-op with a mission: to
continue the small family farming tradition, preserve open space, and
to provide a high-quality, sustainably produced product at a cost that is
reasonable to the consumer, while also giving the farmers a fair price for
their work. Getting the co-op off the ground took some effort and money
on the part of the participating farms, but the non-profit status helped
with securing grants to research and launch the project.
They started at the ground level, using coolers to keep the milk cold in
transit before they bought their first refrigerated truck. Finding a local
plant that would process their milk separately and with high standards
was a challenge, but they found Boice’s Dairy in Kingston, who handled
their milk with the same care the farmers put into producing it. The
price for their milk is generally a $1.00 more per gallon than the generic,
and a $1.00 less than organic. The consumer response to their products
has been fantastic. Dr. Simon tells me that the co-op’s revenue and sales
have grown 50% a year since they started in 2005.
Dr. Simon thinks the reasons for the popularity of their milk are because
of the quality and taste, and because of the local public’s awareness and
demand for locally and sustainably produced food. Hudson Valley Fresh
cows are pastured and grass-fed, which, according to Dr. Simon, adds
body and taste to the milk that the industrial farms can’t match, with
their penned cows that have been fed a fermented diet. Also, because of
the fact that the milk is produced locally—all the farms involved are
within 20 miles of each other in Dutchess County—the milk is fresher
than milk from Iowa or Ohio. Dr. Simon explains that generic,
industrial-farmed milk can come from thousands of miles away and is
all co-mingled into large batches for production. By keeping
their production and products very local, they can have milk on
the shelves within 36 hours from the milking of the cow. Also,
the quality of their milk—based on the somatic
cell count, tested and measured each day—is
almost ten times better than the national average.
(See www.hudsonvalleyfresh.com for milk quality details.)
Dr. Simon and Hudson Valley Fresh do not negotiate on the
price of their milk, even for wholesalers. Their price is what
it is, and they believe it is a fair price. While a little higher
than generic milk, they have found that in the right markets,
people are willing to pay a little more for the quality and
for the fact that they know they are keeping small farms
viable. When asked about the value of their products to
the local economy, Dr. Simon explains, “We represent
1,000 milking cows. Each milking cow contributes to this
economy $15,000 per year. So this co-op contributes $15
million dollars to the local economy per year. How many jobs?
Well the plant employs 43 people. Each farm has anywhere from
3 to 10. Every farmer that started with us, except one or two that
retired due to age, is still with us.”
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Competing with the other products on the market is the main challenge
facing the co-op. Dr. Simon explains that demographics are important
in marketing the milk. Educating the public about the food they buy and
knowing how and where it is produced is crucial. He asks, “What is the
value of knowing where your food is coming from? The carbon footprint
here is 30 miles from the cow to the plant, and the longest distance we
go is 100 miles; when the average gallon of milk in this country travels
1,100 miles? This region, the Northeast, consumes 45% of all the dairy
products produced in this country, but we only produce 15% of it.
Where do you think the dairy is coming from? So why should we be
bringing in stuff from west of the Mississippi, when we can get it right
here. Granted, it will cost you a little bit more, but what are you getting
in return: beautiful, open space, maintaining the local economy, and you
know where your food is coming from, and it’s fresher. You can’t tell me
that milk coming from Idaho is fresher than Pleasant Valley, NY.”
Beyond the desire to provide high-quality, local, and sustainably
produced milk, the Hudson Valley Fresh co-op also recognizes the value
of keeping farmers on their farms, not only to preserve a way of life,
but to keep people employed locally and to keep the economy vital.
“There were 330 dairy farms in this county when I came here in the 70’s.
There are now 32. What does that tell you?” Dr. Simon asks, “Where did
they go? They didn’t go by choice. They were forced out because they
couldn’t afford to do it. They could not survive; and the ones that are left
who are tremendous managers and great caretakers are on the brink.”
So, by forming their own co-op and refusing to compromise on either
quality or price, the Hudson Valley Fresh co-op has created an important
and growing niche in the local economy. Local co-ops between farmers
were a common way to do business before the days of industrialized and
corporatized agriculture. By collectively pooling their resources and
their work, these farmers are showing the way back to a more sustainable
way of working and living. And the milk is downright delicious, too.
Hudson Valley Fresh milk can be found at Adam’s Fairacre Farms,
Mother Earth’s Storehouse, and local grocery stores, delis and coffee shops
throughout the Hudson Valley and in New York City.
www.hudsonvalleyfresh.com