Organic Valley Statement on USDA Announcement of Final Origin of Livestock Requirement

Organic Valley applauds and welcomes the long-awaited announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to finalize the National Organic Program regulation on Origin of Livestock. Originally published in 2015, this regulation clarifies the expectation for how dairy farms transition and source dairy cows for organic milk production.

The final rule addresses an inconsistent interpretation among USDA accredited certifiers that in some instances allowed a continuous flow of animals transitioned from nonorganic to organic dairy operations. USDA clarified Origin of Livestock to mean that a dairy operation can exercise a one-time transition event from conventional to organic for period of 12 months, thereafter all dairy animals brought on the farm must be organic from last third of gestation.

The USDA's action falls in line with the thousands of public comments supporting the agencies narrowing of permissible organic dairy transition approaches. Our cooperative has been a leading voice and commented in the past three comment periods and had our board chair Steve Pierson testify on the topic in 2019. Our cooperative has been a leading voice and commented in the past three comment periods and had our board chair Steve Pierson testify on the topic in 2019 in front of the U.S. House Agriculture subcommittee for Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research.

While this final rule represents progress, Organic Valley will continue helping government agencies understand the dynamics small to mid-sized farms face as they look to bring the next generation into farm ownership and operation.

"Origin of livestock has been a long-standing priority for Organic Valley. Our farmers have been disadvantaged by the lack of consistency on origin of livestock for far too long" said Organic Valley Board President and Farmer-Member Steve Pierson. "This is a priority that we helped led nationally over the last seven years, I am encouraged that there is finally some progress from the USDA on a vital aspect of the organic program."