Organic Dairy Cows Life

Organic dairy is a rising trend these days, but have you ever wondered the meaning of this terms? Organic dairy fundamentally requires farmers to comply with strict standards for the health of cows and consumers. The technical requirement for organic farming of dairy maybe elaborate and vary in accordance with each certification. Yet, its basic principles come down to ensuring cows are fed with organic food involving no chemical substances and only utilizing organic treatment when cows are sick. Indeed, the secret behind organic dairy is the happy, healthy life of organic cows, for the high-quality, nothing-but-nature milk for consumers.

1. Year-round free-gazing on green pasture

Pasture Access

It is required that organic ruminant livestock graze throughout the entire 120 days per year period of grazing season across the geographical region. Land for pasture will be under strict management in accordance with the organic crop standards to make sure that sufficient quality and quantity of pasture are available for grazing of cows..

Under the AsureQuality Organic Standard, the process of organic land conversion requires at least 12 months of elaborate measures to ensure the land is suitable for growing nothing-but-nature organic feeding crops.

 

Feeding and Grazing

In the grazing season, it is a must that organic ruminant livestock consume at least 30% of their diet from grazing on organic pasture (measured by dry matter intake). The remaining portion of the diet must also source completely from organic ingredients. 

Taking into account health concerns of consumers, feeds with ingredients from growth hormones, antibiotics, GMOs, are strictly prohibited.

2. “High-class” living conditions

Health and natural behavior of organic livestock must be accommodated accordingly, taking into consideration the requirement of year-round access to the outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, clean water for drinking, and direct sunlight, suitable to the species, its stage of life, the climate, and the environment. 

Constant complete confinement of any livestocks indoors or in yards, feeding pads, or feedlots is strictly prohibited. Such practice of confinement may potentially give rise to cows’ producing toxic substances in milk.

 

3. Elaborate healthcare

Health Care

Preventive livestock health care practices are to be resorted as the main measures for the sickness treatment of organic cows, such as selecting species appropriate for site-specific conditions, providing healthy feed rations, safe and clean housing, and minimizing stress. Other health care medicines, including vaccines and some parasiticides, may be used if preventive under the condition that standard health care practices are not sufficient. 

Antibiotics are strictly prohibited as it may potentially expose toxic substances to the harvested milk.

 

Origin of organic dairy cows

On the market, it is compulsory that dairy sold or represented as organic must be harvested from livestock under continuous organic management for a consecutive one year at least. This one-year transition period is an essential procedure on converting a conventional herd to organic. 

Under AsureQuality Organic Standards, not only the direct producer of organic milk is to oversee the production process, the certified operator owning the product at the point of transport is also responsible for maintaining the organic integrity by checking the legal organic labelling on dairy products during the transport process.

4. Pāmu Organic Whole Milk – 100% imported from New Zealand

Pāmu Pure Organic milk, organic certified by AsureQuality, is sourced exclusively from selected certified organic farms in New Zealand’s lush, green North Island, where cows have free range access to pasture year-round. 

These peak conditions ensure our cows are healthy and happy – eating a natural organic diet with no GMOs, palm kernel, antibiotics or added hormones.

 

Read more about Pāmu Organic Whole Milk at:

• Pāmu – Pioneering in Organic Natural, Nutritious milk (link)
• Product information on Natural Food Group website (link)

 

Tham khảo/Reference:

• The Benefits of Organic Dairy: https://www2.organic-center.org/sites/default/files/organiccenter_dairyreport_final.pdf

AsureQuality Organic Standard V8 2020: link