Two choices in marketing organic milk

By Frances Anderson, Ontario Farmer staff
Ontario Farmer © Copyright 2006, Sun Media Corporation
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Farmers considering marketing organic milk in Ontario have two choices as to where they market their milk.

"There's not just one group," Lawrence Andres, called to remind Ontario Farmer last week. The president and majority owner of Harmony Organic Dairy Products Inc., says it may have fewer producers, but they ship proportionately more milk, and they're paid a higher premium for the product.

Harmony raised its premium to 20 per cent, effective January 1, 2006. Harmony is not a co-operative; it's "producer-owned. You don't have to buy into the company," said Andres. But, he added "we cannot take everybody."

Launched four years ago, Harmony has carved out "a niche market within a niche," by offering the option of buying milk the old- fashioned way, in glass bottles.

This fits with its philosophy of marketing "bio-regionally... We believe that milk should be produced locally and consumed locally," said Andres, noting that bottles complement this.

"We have the fastest growth in glass (products). We have no competition and we can't keep up with the bottles" despite the fact that they can easily make 15 to 25 trips from the dairy to the table and back.

Furthermore "we're the only organic fluid milk in Canada which is kosher-certified. So we're getting into some fairly large markets," said Andres.

OACC gratefully acknowledges Ontario Farmer for permission to post this article on our website.