Ashley Harrell
2006-04-20
In 1994, the Straus Family Creamery became the first dairy west of the
The reason is no secret - organic milk is now an $11 billion industry, and analysts say there's plenty of room for growth. As conglomerates swell their milk production to meet the demand, Whole Foods estimated that the organic sector of the milk market could grow from 3 to 15 percent. The handlers, or businesses that bottle and sell organic milk, are scrambling to enlist organic dairies and even poaching them from smaller handlers, like Straus.
"He [Albert Straus] was the lone guy out there, and all of a sudden you have - well, I don't want to say corporate - but you have much bigger businesses that can gobble up the smaller ones because they can offer a bigger premium," said Anita Sauber, an agricultural inspector for the Marin Agriculture Department of Weights and Measures. Sauber has been getting inundated with requests for organic certification from dairies looking to fill the exorbitant demand that has been growing for a decade. Organic milk now fetches $23 per hundred-weight, about twice the going rate for regular milk ($11 or $12 per hundred-weight).
"Organic dairy is so hot," Sauber said. Some dairy ranchers have approached Sauber and other certifiers claiming they've managed their pastures and animals organically for years. In some cases it's a thinly veiled attempt to undercut the three-year process, Sauber said. Rumors have circulated that some handlers are putting the pressure on dairies to get certified quickly and cash in on their cows before the market levels out.
In other cases, handlers have coveted the competition's dairies and sent out information packets that could be interpreted as solicitations. Tim Griffin, the national dairy recruitment manager for
"We try to be very, very respectful of our competitors and hopefully we're treated the same," said
The five-page mailing included advice on transitioning a herd, current
Regardless of the letter's intent, the Treshs are not interested in switching from the handler they've worked closely with for more than ten years. Joe Tresh buried the letter in a drawer, and Kathy Tresh said that as long as Albert Straus lives, he can have Tresh milk. But not all shippers are so inclined.
Late last year, a Two Rock organic dairy rancher looking to up his profits went handler-shopping. John Mattos, formerly a shipper (the industry term for supplier) for Straus, scouted grocery store milk sections, checking out the competitors. What did they pay their shippers? What incentives did they offer? He knew they were all looking to increase their organic milk supply during the nationwide shortage (because the certification process takes so long, there are not enough organic dairies to meet the demand), and he knew there were larger operations than Straus. Mattos wondered, could he be making more money?
In September of 2005, Mattos checked websites and telephoned
"There was tension in the air - that's for sure," a concerned but unrepentant Mattos said last week. "Straus is a small processor. When one dairy leaves, it really takes a bite out of the supply."
Many companies that sell Straus milk or use it in their products, such as Cowgirl Creamery, had to accept fewer gallons. The Creamery supply fell from 2,000 gallons to about 1,500 a week, resulting in the disappearance of Red Hawk and Mt Tam cheese wedges from Whole Foods shelves in February and March. Straus could no longer supply milk or dairy products to Amy's Kitchen, a Santa Rosa Vegetarian restaurant, and finally had to cut back his own product lines. On Friday, Albert Straus politely voiced frustrations over losing the Mattos dairy. He remembers advising Mattos during the rancher's transition to organic production, he said, and the move was unexpected.
"It was abrupt and there was no real dialogue," Straus said of Mattos's departure, tucking his hands in his pockets. He said he didn't know why Mattos left, but hopes that in the future his dairies will stick by him. "The Tresh's have been very supportive and a part of what we do," he said. "I'm looking for ways to give new people the same feeling."
To accommodate what he hopes will be an increasing milk supply, Straus is expanding to a production facility four times as large as his current dairy (the former Synanon kitchen). He has two options he's considering in
Marin Organic Executive Director Helge Helberg gave a vote of confidence for both the organic market and the Straus operation. A Straus milk drinker himself, Helberg is thrilled that consumers are increasingly making informed decisions about their milk, and demanding high quality products. That might make it more difficult for small businesses like Straus's to find shippers right now, he said, "but Albert is a very bright rancher. He will figure out a solution."