Horizon Organic, to terminate contracts with Vermont farmers

[janterry]

Danone, a global food company and the owner of Horizon Organic, plans to terminate contracts next year with all of its organic dairy farmers in Vermont and other parts of the Northeast, leaving farmers without buyers for their milk.

Other buyers in the area, including Stonyfield Organic, Organic Valley and Upstate Niagara Cooperative, appear to have limited capacity to accept new producers.

More than two dozen of Vermont’s small- to medium-sized organic farmers received letters from Danone last week that say their contracts will end on Aug. 31, 2022.

and

The move represents the latest blow to an industry that has been struggling for years from rising production costs that have outpaced consumer prices. The number of dairy farms in Vermont has decreased by 37% in the past 10 years and by 69% in the past 24 years, according to a 2021 report from the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation.

Organic dairy farms decreased by 8% between 2010 and 2020. Vermont had a total of 181 organic dairy farms at the end of 2020, according to the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.

Representatives from Danone did not respond to requests for comment. Danone bought Horizon Organic five years ago.

One farmer, located in the northeast region of the state, said he heard rumors about Danone’s decision three months ago. He began calling around to other milk companies, but everyone, including non-organic buyers, was full. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was concerned that Danone could act against him.

“Right now, we have no options,” he said.

https://vtdigger.org/2021/08/23/danone-owner-of-horizon-organic-terminates-contracts-with-vermont-farmers/

[Tadpole Raisin]

1. I looked at the Horizon website appears to be based in Colorado

https://horizon.com/organic-dairy-products/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiLPKn9TJ8gIVFQaICR372QKuEAAYASAAEgImGvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Looks like they have about 4% of the market. They list 3 farmer partners:

Zimba farms in Michigan
Willow Creek in Belmont New York - Chesapeake Bay area
Gingg Brothers in Texas

But state they have over 600 organic family partners (Wikipedia said it was 700 but that was awhile back.

https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/15547-demand-for-organic-products-expands-to-more-categories

In this 2020 article they discuss the 2 biggest categories of organic food - produce and dairy.

Snip:

Category trends
Produce remains the largest organic category, representing more than 36% of all organic food sales, according to the OTA. In 2018, sales of organic fruits and vegetables increased 5.6% to $17.4 billion, while sales of all fruits and vegetables, including organic and conventional products, rose 1.7%. Organic fruits and vegetables comprise nearly 15% of all produce sold in the United States. Carrots, greens, apples and bananas remain popular picks in the organic section, while organic berries, mangos, papayas, avocados, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower are gaining steam.

The second largest organic category is dairy and eggs, which gained 0.8% to $6.5 billion in sales in 2018. Organic egg sales have slowed from strong double-digit growth tracked in previous years, climbing 9.3% to $858 million.

Dairy, meanwhile, has struggled as skim milk and low-fat products lose favor and more millennials opt for plant-based alternatives, according to the association. In response to the trends, the organic dairy industry has introduced milk beverages with increased protein, more full-fat options, new flavors and grass-fed products.

“Tremendous innovation is happening in organic dairy,” Ms. Jagiello said. “Dairy has had a tough few years as shoppers have embraced plant-based alternatives. But when it comes down to it, humans are mammals, and I wouldn’t be quick to dismiss one of the major categories that helped organic enter the mainstream.
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This could really hurt these N.E. Farmers. I saw that happening growing up in Maine and would hate to see it happen here. I hope they can partner together and create their own company. But of course MONEY!!
Will this impact Ben & Jerry’s?

[janterry]

2. millennials drink all that plant based milk thinking it is superior

and yet much of it is full of fillers

(from Mother Jones, reporting on a lawsuit a few years ago)
Almond Breeze products only contain 2 percent of almonds and mostly consist of water, sugar, sunflower lecithin, and carrageenan

[Tadpole Raisin]

3. Yah I drank almond milk until I learned this. That and the fact that it required lots of energy to

Produce it. We won’t have that luxury in coming years.

Thanks for your post!

[UpInArms]

4. The almond growing industry

Is dreadful on the environment …

https://foodrevolution.org/blog/almonds-sustainability/

How Much Water Do Almonds Need?

A single almond takes about 1.1 gallons of water to produce. Or close to 10 gallons for a handful.

California dedicates about 8% of its total agricultural water supply to growing almonds.

Almond trees need water year-round, even when they’re not producing almonds.

And more almond trees are being planted in California, with the number of almond orchards doubling in the last 20 years.

The Truth About Almonds and Water Use

The water almonds need became a topic of concern during the California drought from 2012 to 2016, the worst one on record since 1895. Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency for the state.

[Farmer-Rick]

5. Dairy has been slowly collapsing in the US

Eversince New Deal price subsidies policy was finally removed in 2014 and free trade agreements allowed increase imports of foreign dairy products.

Demand is down too but it may be due to the poor quality of imports. Whatever is causing demand to drop, dairy farming in the US is just another victim of neoliberal and "free" trade policy.

Almonds are so full of pectisides and glysophates, the thought of drinking them like milk gives me the creeps. I've seen how farmers grow almonds, and I would never drink them.