WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA mandates that labeled organic milk must come from cows grazing fresh grass in fertilizer-free, open-air pastures.

 

Last week, the Washington Post challenged the “organic” label on milk generated by a Colorado dairy farm with more than 15,000 cows – one of the largest organic milk producers in the country. The newspaper singled out the Aurora Organic Dairy, a major supplier to Walmart, Costco and other major retailers.

 The Post further questioned the lack of the USDA’s own organic milk inspectors,  highlighting an unorthodox system thatallows farmers to hire and pay their own inspectors to certify them “USDA Organic.”

 

Within days of the May 1 account by Post reporter Peter Whoriskey, The Cornucopia Institute filed a complaint with the USDA against Aurora and state-certified organic milk investigators licensed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. It’s the second time the Aurora farm has come under scrutiny for organic practices, settling with the USDA in 2010 without admitting wrongdoing but promising to make changes. The USDA had charged Aurora with “willful violation” of organic standards.

 

Whoriskey reported on several visits to the farm last year that Aurora apparently skirted USDA rules by flouting requirements that grazing cows must be primarily grass-fed. Certified organic dairies must have cows graze regularly during the growing season instead of being confined to feedlots or barns.

 

On a number of occasions, a team of  Post reporters only saw a few hundred of the 15,000 cows grazing. The newspaper claimed satellite photos taken last July confirmed its account that only 10 percent of the herd was out grazing at any given time.

 In response, “Aurora officials said that during the grazing season the cows are on pasture both day and night. Maybe, they said, on those days, the cows were elsewhere, being milked or otherwise tended.”

 

The U.S. organic market now accounts for more than $40 billion in annual sales with products from 100 countries. Since 2000, sales have jumped $6 billion annually, the Organic Trade Assoc. reports.

 

The USDA did not respond to repeated attempts by Farm World seeking comment on the Post report.

 The USDA website shows the number of overall consumer complaints about organic products has climbed to 121 for the first quarter this year, compared to 64 the previous quarter. Of a combined 185 cases, 69 have been settled, with 15 referred for further investigation.