Organic Dairy Farming: A Resource for Farmers
Organic Dairy FarmingA Book Review by David GriffithsSo it comes as good news to those of us who seek to strengthen the role of  dairy cattle as a integral part of a healthy farm landscape that the  Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) has created a new  edition of Organic Dairy Farming - A Resource for Farmers. Published by  Orang-utan Press, it shares the same title as the original 1995 edition,  but is essentially an entirely new book. That original edition, in spite of  being outdated, was still one of MOSES' most popular titles simply because  there are few other books available on the subject. This new edition should  keep it a popular resource for introducing certified organic dairy farming  principles to transitioning farmers and other interested readers for years  to come.The organization of Organic Dairy Farming (edited by Jody Padgham) was  designed with dairy farmers in mind. It gets right to the subject of cows  and sticks with it for the first eight chapters or approximately half the  book. This isn't a text, but rather a series of articles by twenty authors,  including veterinarians, farmers, researchers and specialists. Most  chapters have general subject titles like "Dairy Nutrition" or "Pasture  Management" and are made up of two or three articles. Some of the articles,  like "Understanding Ration Balancing and the Cow" by Gary Zimmer and "Feed  Quality Preservation" by William Zimmer, DMV provide basic information  without many references to organic management. In articles such as  "Managing Dairy Calves" by Dan Lieterman and "A Self-Fed Mineral Program"  by Dr. Richard Holliday, the authors give their own particular perspectives  on subjects that seem to have as many solutions as there are experts. In  that way the book begins to challenge the reader to begin to see that  organic management is more than a single method or procedure. Interspersed  in the chapters are farmer profiles that, more than anything, seem to  demonstrate the variety of ways organic dairy farming can be practiced.The remaining half of the book has chapters on building soil health,  organic cropping systems, pasture management, organic certification, and  marketing of organic dairy products. The format of stand-alone articles  makes the book easy-to-read and inviting. One of the good things about the  tremendous growth of organic farming is that it has attracted some  excellent people, like the authors presented in Organic Dairy Farming. As  someone not new to organic farming, I found many of the articles  interesting and informative. "Animal Breeding for Organic Production" by  Robert Hadad challenges us to work together to rebuild the vitality of our  dairy breeds. Walter Goldstein of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute  has an interesting article on organic matter management and provides the  sole mention of biodynamics. There are several appendices that include  details on Walter's research, vitamin and mineral function and deficiency  tables, a section on alternative dairy breeds and examples of on-farm  records for certification. The final pages the book include a glossary, a  list of useful resources and index.One hoped-for outcome of the NOP program was the revitalization of the  rural landscape. Traditional family dairy farms with a healthy balance of  cattle and cropland are obvious candidates for a sustainable "makeover."  They hold much of what remains of America's intergenerational agricultural  wisdom and possess the will and drive to farm.  The next few years may well  determine if organic dairy farming remains true to this original vision.David and his wife Edie manage a Biodynamic® dairy farm in southeast  Pennsylvania. --BIODYNAMICS 257, Summer 2006 published by Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association