US Organic Milk Sales Slump
US - Three years ago, organic milk in the US was in heavy demand with health conscious consumers demanding it and the supermarkets not being able to get enough.
29 June 2009
1 minute read
However, now the situation has changed and organic milk sales have plunged.
Farmers, whose milk was previously in demand, now cannot get rid of it.
The volume of organic milk sold nationwide is projected to drop nearly 15 per cent this year compared with 2008, according to some industry estimates, a Boston Globe report says.
Already, one Vermont farm has closed its organic business and others are expected to follow, threatening what was one of the few bright spots in the state’s struggling dairy industry.
Some reports indicate that the draw of organic milk fell with the financial crisis and prices of conventional milk sank.
In some regions, organic milk is $7.50 per gallon compared with around $2.50 per gallon for nonorganic milk.
Others blame the influx of organic farmers. Vermont, which supplies much of the organic milk for the Boston market, saw the number of organic dairy farmers grow to 201 from 114 in the past three years, the Boston Globe says. Now, some farmers, many of whom incurred big debt to convert their farms to organic, can barely pay their bills.
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