Oregon Tilth’s Executive Director Chris Schreiner and Inspection Assistant Allison Bansen joined Organic Valley’s organic dairy farm meeting with Oregon Governor Kate Brown and US Senator Jeff Merkley.

The meeting brought dairy farmers and partners together at the site of Organic Valley’s creamery in McMinnville, Ore. With 42 full-time staff, the facility processes over 500,000 pounds of organic milk each day from farms in the region. From the Capital Press:

One of those members is Sar-Ben Farms in Saint Paul. Steve Pierson, a fourth-generation family farmer, also serves on the Organic Valley board of directors. He talked about the process of going organic, shifting from a confined feeding operation to a grass-based operation, which helped to improve the health of his cows.

“We felt that herd should have been healthier,” Pierson said, and though it was intimidating to change their production model, “We found that working with Mother Nature, instead of against it, was really better for us.”

Governor Kate Brown remarked on how “she was pleased to see the creamery has created new jobs in the community, and will be talking with Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor on programs to support further growth in organic farming.”

Full article at Capital Press