yearofplenty

Idaho Dairymen's Assoc. Encourages Idaho Dairy Processors to Lift Ban on rBST (Artificial Growth Hormone)

According to the publication Dairy Today, the Idaho Dairymen's Association is circulating a letter encouraging Idaho dairy processors to "drop the ban" on using rBST. The hormone is known as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), or artificial growth hormone. Monsanto has marketed it in the past as POSILAC. 

I spoke this morning with Bob Naerbout, the executive director of the Idaho Dairymen's Association about the letter. He explained that all processors in Idaho currently require farmers to sign off with each delivery that their milk is rBST free. They are advocating for processors to lift that requirement in order for Idaho dairy producers to compete with dairies around the country that are not confined by that restriction. He stated that over 90% of the dairy produced in Idaho is shipped out of state and they are at a competitive disadvantage. rBST helps cows produce more milk.

Mr. Naerbout said that the ban was initially put in place because of anticipated consumer demand for rBST free dairy products, but he said that is not the case and that the "vast majority" of consumers are not demanding rBST free products. A "vocal small minority," he said, are the ones who oppose rBST.

He said that the bottom line is that consumers deserve a choice, and they are free to make that choice, and the processors should be free to choose when it comes to rBST as well.

The problem with the power of consumer choice is that the source of dairy products is very difficult to pin down. I recently checked the source of dairy products in my fridge and they were from all over the country and none of them had any information on rBST.

I have a call into the Washington Dairy Products Commission to find out about Washington Rules and Regulation re: rBST. Mr Naerbout did say that Darigold processors don't take milk with rBST, and Inland Northwest Dairy in Spokane is owned by Dairgold.

Live Blogging My Fridge's Dairy Products Via New Web Site: Where's My Milk From?

Found this great new site (via GOOD) that allows you to type in the number on your milk jug and determine where the product came from.

I typed in the numbers on our gallon of milk from the fridge and sure enough - it's from Spokane. It even shows what other products are made at the Darigold plant in Spokane. I sure wish we had this available two year's ago when it took the skills of an investigative reporter to source our milk.

This doesn't guarantee that the milk is from a nearby cow. Milk flows like a commodity and Darigold is a huge company. If you want a guarantee go with Spokane's Family Farm.

Now let me try it with Albertson's butter...Darnit! It's from Tulare, CA. 

OK, this is getting interesting. What other dairy products do I have in the house?

Challenge Butter. Let's try this one. Foiled again! Greenwood Wisconsin. We have really fallen off the local wagon. Let's pause for a sentimental moment to remember that year where we made our own butter from local cow milk.

OK, what's next? Albertsons light yogurt, and the snazzy new web app saaaays - Fullerton, CA, right next to Disneyland. The carbon footprint of my fridge is really feeling self conscious at this point.

In case you're wondering, it's true, I am actually live blogging all of the dairy in my refrigerator. I know it's riveting stuff, so let's move on to the Darigold Sour Cream and Cottage Cheese. - Seattle. That's better.

Western Family Half & Half, - Portland Oregon. I can live with that.

Mountain High Yogurt - Engelwood, CO. They don't call it Mountain High for nothing.

Doesn't appear to work with ice cream, cheese or other dairy products.

It's a fair question at this point to ask if maybe I don't have better things to do on a Monday night; like say finishing a dissertation or writing a book. I hear that and I promise, I'm about to get productive, but let me conclude by highly recommending this "Where's My Milk From?" site for those looking for ways to avoid doing things like finishing a dissertation or writing a book.

Take Heart Cougs - You Can't Sell Out Football Games But You Can Sell Out Your Cheese

Who needs a football team when you have the WSU Creamery kicking but in the world of cheese making. They have apparently sold out of their 3 year old extra aged Cougar Gold cheese. You might still be able to get some from area Costco stores. Much respect to the creamery from this UW Husky. Go here for our field trip report to the Creamery from awhile back.

Spokane's Family Farm a "Revolutionary Dairy" In Our Own Backyard

Back in April I noted the opening of Spokane's Family Farm, a local independent Dairy. In the midst of the worst dairy market in recent history they are still plugging away, carving out a market niche in Spokane area grocery stores and beyond.

There's an interesting transcript of a radio show over at Our Northwest Economy that offers an update after 7 months of operation. Here are some highlights from the conversation with Trish and Mike Vieira, formerly part of the Darigold cooperative of dairy farmers.

While they want to make a living, the Vieiras are more concerned with the integrity and health of their product. One of the reasons they became independent is because they couldn’t stand the idea of their milk being pooled with milk from farmers who weren’t as clean:

Trish Vieira: It’s really hard when you do a really good job and you work really hard at it to see it just get dumped with the rest of it so that’s one of the reasons. [and] The other reason is the processing and what happens to the milk before it gets back to the consumer – it changes the milk components so much that it’s no longer healthy, nor is it hardly any longer milk.

I was most intrigued by their comments on the cleanliness of the cows and the relationship of cleanliness to bacteria in the milk:

Hawkins: Much of today’s milk has a very long shelf life because it is so sterile. It’s a commodity that is shipped over long distances and can last for months. Dairies don’t have to be as fastidious as the Vieras’ because their milk is highly processed anyway.

Viera: You get good shelf life for two reasons: low bacteria and refrigeration. You also get quality with low bacteria. So if you got a lot of bacteria you GOTTA boil the heck out of it to make sure it sticks. You watch your bacteria counts then you have quality and you have long shelf life. Ours is three weeks, and that is an excellent shelf life – I mean our raw milk would last that long. Our raw milk is very clean.

I also found it interesting that they have no plans to be organic certified because they want to be able to use antibiotics on the rare occasions when one of their cows is very sick and needing the help. For them it's about caring for the animals. It's important to note that this doesn't mean antibiotics end up in the milk. 

So if you live in the Spokane area and want local, clean, fresh milk Spokane's Family Farm is the sure fire bet. Since Darigold bought out Inland Northwest Dairies last year the supply lines of Spokane milk aren't quite as clear as when I reported on it in 2008.

Here's the scoop on where to get the milk from their website:

All the local Spokane Yoke's Fresh Markets and all the local Rosauers and Huckleberrys carry our milk. Some carry it in the conventional dairy case and some in the natural living sections.

Milk is always available at the farm for $3.50 per gallon and 3 gallons for $10.00. We are booking farm tours daily for milking at 5:00 pm and bottling at 11:00 am all tours end with a tasting of Spokane's Family Farm milk and home made cookies, or ice cream made fresh with Spokane's Family Farm Milk. Milk and cookies tours are $1.00 per person and ice cream tours are $3.00 per person.

Inland Northwest Milk Mystery Revisited

Last year in our quest for local food we took on the surprisingly challenging task of sourcing milk that comes from Inland Northwest farmers and cows. We visited the Inland Northwest Dairy site on Francis near Division, we talked to grocery stores and finally got a somewhat definitive answer from Behm's Dairy on how to identify local milk. It's been one of the most referenced and linked posts from our blog.

I've got some new information that may muddy the waters (or milk) when it comes to identifying local milk. The last year has been a complete mess for the dairy industry. Farmers' have been going under as worldwide demand for milk has plummeted in the down economy. Prices have crashed and the business of milk has been in turmoil. Apparently Spokane's Inland Northwest Dairies L.L.C. has not escaped the changing milk landscape.

When we visited in January 2008 they explained that the company was majority owned by the employees. Darigold at the time had a minority ownership stake. A friend told me last week that at some point last year Darigold bought out the employees. I checked the Inland Northwest Dairies site www.inlandnwdairy.com/ and there is nothing there. I need to do some more investigating but with their near monopoly of milk production in Washington I suspect milk is moving more freely across the region than maybe it was before.

Does anyone have any more information on this?

Spokane Familiy Farm is a sure fire way to get local milk.

"Spokane's Family Farm", A Spokane Area Dairy's Milk Now Available At Roseauers, Huckleberries and Yokes

Go here for a video report on KREM news. They are one week into selling in stores and here is the literal money quote from the farmer, "We sure have the interest, but now is when the rubber meets and road..." In other words, there is a lot of interest in local food, but can we build a business on that interest. Send a message this week that Spokane will support investment in local, sustainable, and healthy food systems and go buy a couple of gallons of Spokane's Family Farm's milk - bottled by Mike and Tricia.

Our journey last year showed us the maze of simply trying to find out where our food comes from. The industrial ag systems are not set up to provide this information. The beauty of this new opportunity is that it's a simply supply chain. Watch the video and you'll see what I mean.

Name That Cow

On opening day of the Millwood Farmers' Market last year, someone was in line to get some beef from Dave Mcculough of Susie David's, who sells grass fed beef, including sausages made from the beef. This person noticed that Dave had little morsels of the sausage available for sampling, and said, "This is just like Costco." In one of my favorite comebacks of all time, Dave said, "I can do something Costco can't do. I can tell you the name of that cow's grandmother." I don't know if reminding people that the sausage they are eating comes from someone with a name and family is the best way to sell beef, but it is a great way to sum up the difference between industrial beef and local beef that you get from someone like Dave. Dave knows the names of the cows and what they have eaten.

Dave's comment is especially meaningful given the news today that the FDA has finalized their rule regarding what is allowed in pet and animal feed. I thought they had banned any cattle parts from animal feed, but it turns out it's only the spinal chords and brains of cattle 30 months old or older, and carcases more than 30 months old. I guess cows are still being fed to cows. I don't know the science of it but I find it a little disturbing.

As I understand it, and I admit my understanding is limited and I welcome any corrections, the industrial beef industry works something like this; A cattle rancher raises calfs, born at around 80 lbs, until they are close to a year old. They are then shipped off to a big feedlot where they are fattened up with a mix of grains, grass, and growth hormones. Anti-biotics are important because you've got thousands of cows coming from hundreds of locations thrown together in confined spaces of 500 to a 1,000 head of cattle per acre. After three months of intense plumping up to 1,200 lbs, the cows are then sold to a meat packer or processor who ages the carcas, cuts it up, boxes it, and sells it to grocery stores. 

Round and Round With a 40 Pound Block of Cheese

While at WSU's relatively small cheese making operation, the manager told us about the large Darigold cheesemaking operation in Sunnyside, WA. According to the president of Darigold it is "one of the largest and most efficient state-of-the-art cheese plants in the world..." The tour is supposed to be great.

Nancy went to work on Monday morning, trying to figure out how we can get our hands on some of this "local" cheese. The folks in Sunnyside were very helpful, but in what is becoming a recurring experience, we found that a food system built around maximizing efficiency and profit, does not lend itself to identifying where the food originates. It turns out that Sunnyside churns out over 400,000 lbs of cheese every day, but most of it, at least right now, is shipped to far off places like Wisconsin. So if you want local Pacific Northwest cheese, you might need to do one of those cheese tours of Wisconsin. Another option they told us is to find a restaurant that buys their 40lb blocks from Food Services of America, and have them cut us off a chunk. Or we could find some friends who want to go in on buying a 40lb block and share it. Or maybe I can take that $600 tax stimulus, buy 7 blocks of cheese, and become the local cheesemonger. I sort of just wanted an excuse to write cheesemonger. Cheesemonger. Cheesemonger. Cheesemonger. It's a fun word, you have to admit.

If you're wondering about why we would ship Pacific Northwest cheese to Wisconsin, a quick look at wholesale prices tells the tale. In the western market for 40 lb blocks 'o cheese, the price is currently $2.16/lb, whereas the Wisconsin market price is $2.41/lb. I'm no expert on transportation costs but I guess in the end, the math works. With all the news about increasing food prices you may be interested to know that two years ago the cost was $1.45/lb in the western market. Consider that your commodities market minute.

In other random cheese news, Tillamook ships their cheese to Oakland to be shredded, and then has it shipped back north to be distributed.

   

Field Trip to the WSU Creamery and What's Going On With Local

We made our long anticipated trek to WSU yesterday to visit the creamery, our source of cheddar cheese. We took the kids out of school for the day and had a beautiful sunny drive along the Palouse. We missed the "cheddaring", where they turn the hardened whey into flat loaves but we did get to see them mill the curd, which was like putting the cheese into a big paper shredder.

The creamery manager explained that it's the proprietary bacterial culture they use that makes their cheese unique. Because they use a metal container, they had to develop a bacteria for the cheese that produces less gas to keep the cans from swelling. In the process they stumbled upon a culture that not only produces less gas, it keeps the cheese sweet as it ages. For over 60 years they have been using this same microorganism in the cheese making process, going daily into the well marked "culture room" to add it to a new medium to keep it going. Todays cheese contains the great, great, great, great, great...great grandchildren of the cheese from 60 years ago.

We also learned that the cheese making process begins at 4:00 am every morning when they pick up the milk from the WSU dairy farm. We stocked up on the over sized tuna cans of cheese because it's $5 less per can on campus than it is in Spokane at the Bookie. We also bought a 3 gallon container of their ice cream. That's our first non-homemade ice cream in three months. Insert Homer Simpson drooling sounds here.

In a fun turn of events we ended up meeting with two classes of undergrad and grad students; "Agriculture, Environment, and Community", taught by Jessica Goldberger, and "Local Impacts of Global Commodity Systems" taught by Ray Jussaume. I felt a little bit like Leo DiCaprio in the movie "Catch Me if You Can", where he goes around pretending to be a doctor and a pilot, and people inexplicably believe him. I am far from an authority on commodity systems and agriculture, but we were able to have a good conversation around our experience. Thanks Jessica, Ray and the students for your generous hospitality.

Homemade Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

One of our first used purchases was a 6 quart Rival ice cream maker that we found on craigslist for $12. It's the traditional ice and rock salt variety. We tried Mary Lou's ice cream made in the Valley but we weren't crazy about it, so we started experimenting with different versions of vanilla ice cream. The recipe that comes with the ice cream maker calls for more butter fat than our conscience would allow, so we have settled on the following portions: 6 cups whole milk, 4 cups heavy whipping cream from Wilcox farms (available at Costco), 2 cups half & half, 2 tablespoons vanilla extract acquired on the black market of long dormant Costco surpluses from our neighbors, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and a couple of cups of something sweet.

Milk Mystery Solved

One of the biggest challenges in sourcing local food has been to figure out milk and dairy products. We even went to the Inland Northwest Dairies processing plant and spoke to the people there. But we still have been confused about which milk brands are from Inland Northwest farmers and which are being shipped over the pass from the Seattle area. Yesterday, I went to Behm's Valley Creamery and got the definitive word on sourcing Spokane dairy products. Before I explain, let me put in a good word for buying your milk from Behm's in Spokane Valley. They used to process milk at that location. You can peek in the window and see all the idle stainless steel equipment from a bygone era when they bottled the milk and delivered it to your door. Now they run a small distribution operation for restaurants and hotels, and they have a small retail storefront with the cheapest milk prices in town. Mr. Behm will also answer any question you have about milk and dairy products.

OK, so here's the scoop on knowing where your milk comes from in Spokane and why you should be interested in making sure it's from Inland Northwest farmers...

Making Butter

We discovered in our research of Inland Northwest dairy producers, that there is no local butter. Darigold comes from west of the mountains and I'm not sure about the other brands. Strict health regulations have caused the consolidation of specialty dairy producers. It's more cost effective to ship stuff given the high cost of meeting the regs. Inland Northwest Dairies operates their bottling operation only four days a week because it takes four hours every night to clean up. The benefits of operating one more day are outweighed by the operational costs of clean up. The shipping operaton on the other hand operates all week.