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Going for Healthier Produce, Not Higher Production

by Karen Van Epen

Many years ago an old man gave young dairy farmer Tony Tosta Azevedo some advice that seemed crazy. He told him, “Tony, you should get into the entertainment business. California’s an entertainment state.”

In those days, Tony and his dad were grazing their Holstein herd on pasture and selling the milk to the local creamery. Over the next decade, the Azevedos watched as their Merced County neighbors took out big bank loans to expand their herds and build elaborate confinement facilities. The two of them were not convinced that going big was such a good idea.

After his dad retired, Tony began to search for a different way for Double T A-cres to stay profitable. He converted the family’s old-fashioned dairy to organic practices. And he also followed that old man’s advice.

Finding Organic Valley

“The change in our farming operation came about because of the low prices, said Azevedo. “We realized we were going to have to change to stay in business. You reach a point in life where you say, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore.’ ”

So Tony did some research and found Organic Valley. Based in Wisconsin, the cooperative produces milk in nine states and sells their products all over the country. Four dairies in the San Joaquin Valley are affiliated with Organic Valley, and three more will be coming on board in the next year.

“For us, organic production has been a second chance,” said Azevedo. “In the past, when we sold our milk to the conventional creamery, we never knew what the price was until 30 days after the milk was sold. Organic Valley’s price is based on our expenses. We tell them what it cost us to produce it, what we need to get.”

“I don’t like subsidies,” he said. “If organic farming’s going to work, it’s got to succeed on its own merits. Higher prices must be earned through added concern for the animals and extra high quality product. Organic Valley is built on small farms where the farmers really care. Now we are looking for more producers.”

The long transition period makes going organic an expensive proposition. First the land has to be farmed organically for three years. Then for eight months the herd has to have 80 percent organic feed. Finally, the animals must be on all organic feed for four months before a dairy can be certified organic.

New Value in Old Practices

“We’ve reverted back to the old dairy ways of my Dad,” said Azevedo. The present herd is descended from his father’s animals. He has selected bulls that do well on pasture in order to create a herd that will thrive on grass. The family milks their cows for eight to ten years, compared to the conventional practice of keeping milk cows for about five years before they are sent to the slaughterhouse.

Azevedo feels strongly that conventional dairy farms are headed in the wrong direction. “Over the last 30 years,” he said, “the high schools have taught prospective farmers three things: Produce. Produce. Produce. And the breeders have created monster cows that give lots of milk but can’t walk, so they can’t survive on pasture. Today’s animals are so big and awkward that they have to stay in one place and eat all day. The new animals have other problems, too. My neighbors’ herds have diseases I’ve never even heard of.”

“Now we need to take a look at that and turn the clock back,” he said. “We’ve accomplished a great deal as far as increased production, but what did we do to the animals’ lives? The smaller, wilder cows give less milk, yes. But this is not about us getting higher and higher production. It’s about the consumer. The public wants to see good treatment of animals and a healthier product.”

The Azevedo dairy milks 160 cows, eight at a time, a much smaller number than most conventional dairies. “I think it’s an advantage to be small,” he said. “The milkers can see when a cow is ill and her milk production drops. We get 6.3 gallons per cow per day. That’s about a gallon less than the big guys. But we get more from our cows over the long run, because they live longer.”

“We don’t want to run a factory farm. For one thing, it’s hard to find workers for a place like that. We want to keep people, and workers are happier when the animals are well treated.”

Organic Milk Production

The Azevedo dairy didn’t begin to use pesticides until about 20 years ago. “We thought it would be the way to go, but that was very short-lived,” said Azevedo. “When I started to change our practices back, I didn’t even know how to spell organic. I was going to just go ahead and not use antibiotics.”

“We really like organic production because it’s consumer-driven,” he went on. “It’s good to appeal directly to the consumers. More and more families believe that children under 13 should be eating organic food. After the kids are 13, you can’t tell them what to eat, anyway.”

Azevedo believes that the first major public group to recognize the need for organic food will be the schools. Then he predicts the hospitals will follow suit. “I’d like to create that direct link to the consumer,” he said, “one person at a time.”

“Organic farming has allowed us to pay our kids enough to make a living,” Azevedo said. “I’d rather work for myself 20 hours a day than work for others eight hours a day. And this provides a future for the kids. I’d never go back. I’d sell.”

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