Refusing to "Push the Cows": The Rise of Organic Dairying in the Northeast and Midwest in the 1970s-1980s

Abstract

The organic dairy movement started long before a mainstream market for such products existed. As early as the 1960s, conventional dairy farmers in different regions of the United States adopted organic methods although there were no financial rewards for doing so. They made changes to their production practices because of specific problems they encountered with the conventional system. In the 1980s several pioneering farmers turned to on-farm processing and sold their dairy products in alternative retail outlets. They were also instrumental in the development of organic certification standards. By sharing the stories of the organic dairy farmers at the forefront of the movement, this article documents how organic dairy developed from an “invisible” part of the production process to a niche product of food coops in the 1980s.