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Redefining the Farmer-Processor Relationship: The Story of Organic Cow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2016

OLIVIA R. SAUCIER ,
ROBERT L. PARSONS  and
SHOSHANAH INWOOD
OLIVIA R. SAUCIER
Affiliation:
Olivia R. Saucier holds a master’s degree in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont. Contact information: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Morrill Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail: olivia.saucier@gmail.com
ROBERT L. PARSONS
Affiliation:
Robert L. Parsons is Extension Professor in the department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. Contact information: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Morrill Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail: rlparsons@uvm.edu
SHOSHANAH INWOOD
Affiliation:
Shoshanah Inwood, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Development and Applied at the University of Vermont. Contact information: Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Morrill Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail:sinwood@uvm.edu
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Abstract

This article examines, from the viewpoint of a core group of Vermont milk producers, the period in the mid-1990s when organic dairy became mainstream. We look at the rise and subsequent takeover of one of the first organic milk-processing companies, The Organic Cow of Vermont, through the eyes of the farmers involved. In so doing, we provide needed perspective on the role of food producers working in industries subject to growth and consolidation. As producers of a commodity that grew out of the conventional system, organic dairy farmers faced unique choices that set them apart from other organic producers at that time. We demonstrate that the market for organic milk and dairy provided the opportunity for a new kind of farmer-processor relationship in which producers were supported through stable pay-prices and an intimate business relationship with processors. This article challenges the idea that the organic dairy industry was built by corporations trying to profit from booming consumer demand for organic foods and offers important contributions to debates surrounding the growth and conventionalization of organic food systems.

Type
Articles
Information
Enterprise & Society , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 358 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2016. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Business History Conference. All rights reserved. 

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References

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