Aurora Organic Dairy Opens New Organic Dairy Farm In Stratford, Texas
Boulder, CO - Aurora Organic Dairy, one of the leading U.S. provider of high-quality private label organic milk and butter, recently announced that organic milk production has begun at its Coldwater West organic dairy farm near Stratford, Texas. This is the first organic dairy farm in Sherman County and Aurora Organic Dairy's second dairy location in Texas. Aurora Organic Dairy's Coldwater West farm has created nearly 50 new jobs in Sherman County.
On June 15, 2007, the Coldwater West facility received organic certification for its 2,500 livestock from independent certifier Quality Assurance International. The 640 acres of cropland and pasture at Coldwater West have been certified separately for several years. Aurora Organic Dairy also owns the adjacent facility, Coldwater East, where Aurora Organic Dairy currently grows certified organic crops on an additional 640 acres.
"U.S. families have shown an increasing appetite for organic dairy products, especially as the price gap between organic and conventional dairy products has narrowed recently," said Marc Peperzak, chairman and CEO of Aurora Organic Dairy. "We are delighted to add this facility to our network of organic dairy farms so that we can meet that demand, and make organic milk and butter more affordable and more available for American families."
Aurora Organic Dairy works with a network of more than 120 organic family farmers to supply feed and pasture land to cows at its organic dairy farms in Texas and Colorado. The new facility in Stratford will add up to 30 new family farmers to the network and increase organic land in Texas and nearby states by more than 10,000 acres.
"Sherman County's favorable climate, strong farming tradition and support structure make it a great place for an organic dairy," said Juan Velez, M.V., M.S., D.A.C.T., large-animal veterinarian and vice president of farm operations for Aurora Organic Dairy.
"The opening of this dairy helps to build organic agriculture and a sustainable dairy industry in Texas, and will provide new opportunities for local family farmers to sell their organic products to Aurora Organic Dairy."
The Stratford farm is modeled after Aurora Organic Dairy's High Plains Organic Dairy in Colorado, where the barns and facilities are located in the center of the farm, surrounded by hundreds of acres of organic pasture. The company's pioneering green-field model for organic dairies provides significant grazing opportunity for its cows, in addition to environmental sustainability and best practices in animal welfare.
In addition to certification of its organic livestock and pasture by independent certifiers, Aurora Organic Dairy is audited by Validus Services, a USDA process-verified animal welfare certifier, to ensure that all cows are treated humanely. The Validus program was developed by top animal welfare experts including Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University, author of numerous books on the humane treatment of animals.
"Our Coldwater West organic dairy farm exemplifies Aurora Organic Dairy's dedication to animal welfare, sustainable agriculture, resource management and to the organic industry as a whole," said Peperzak. "We're looking forward to working with our farmer-partners in the region, sharing our organic farming expertise and contributing to Sherman County's local economy."
SOURCE: Aurora Organic Dairy