As a company that pioneered organic practices, we feel a responsibility to manage our farms in a way that meets or exceeds the USDA standards. In addition, we want to earn the ongoing respect of our peers in organic production and organic enthusiasts who expect us not only to meet the letter of the law but also the spirit of organic production.
Horizon Organic's livestock and farm management standards are guided by nine belief statements. Collectively, these belief statements and standards ensure that we provide the purest, safest and highest-quality organic milk and dairy products to consumers, and that we uphold the highest standards in caring for our animals and the land.
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To read our Standards of Care, please click here.
Standards of Care Highlights
Raising Calves Organically
The best way to know exactly how each of our organic cows has been raised and treated is to raise them ourselves. On our farms, we raise all of our own calves organically from certified organic mothers. Our goal is that all of the organic calves born on our farms will come from certified organic cows also born on our farms.
Animal Care and Welfare
Preventative Health
The best way to raise healthy cows is to provide them with quality pasture, high-forage diets, low-stress birthing, freedom of movement, and comfortable and clean living conditions—all of which contribute to preventative health care. We also focus on preventing illness through regular veterinary check-ups, vaccinations (when needed), and close monitoring of vital signs. Our standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, bovine growth hormones, cloned livestock, or genetically modified feed crops.
Treating Illness
The first and best defense against illness is prevention. But when a calf or cow does become ill, we rely on natural and alternative veterinary methods as our preferred treatment. The use of antibiotics is strictly prohibited in organic dairy animals at all stages of their life, including calves.
If a sick animal cannot be restored to full health with organic approved treatments, we administer antibiotics or other prescribed synthetic medicines to return a calf or cow to good health. We always consider the well-begin of our animals first, and never allow an animal to suffer. If antibiotics or prohibited materials are administered, however, the animal is no longer considered “organic” and must be permanently removed from the herd.
Nutrition
Dairy cattle are herbivores and ruminants; their natural behavior is to graze. On our farms, fresh grass and other forages (pasture grasses, hay, etc.) are the primary feed sources during the growing season. Because grass is a vital part of a healthy diet, during the growing season, dairy cattle on our farms graze on organic pasture by six months of age. We do not believe that lactating cows should be exempt from grazing.
When our cows are not grazing on pasture, they eat organic hay and feed. Our feed and forage are produced without the use of animal byproducts, genetically modified feed grains (GMOs), or prohibited herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers.
Grazing
On our farms, dairy cows graze on organic pasture during the growing season. Based on an expanding body of scientific evidence that suggest cows should have access to pasture during the dormant season so they get fresh air, exercise and some added nutritional benefit, we are exploring the option of grazing during the dormant or closed season. The land also benefits from the carefully planned movement of the animals, which aerate and fertilize the soil surface and encourage moisture penetration, seed generation and carbon sequestration.
In addition to the grazing standards established by the USDA, we have higher grazing goals for our farms based on the growing season calendar for each farm location.
- Maryland: Active grazing April through October; dormant days, November through March, as weather, soil and grass conditions allow
- Idaho: Active grazing May through September; dormant days, October through April, as weather, soil and grass conditions allow
Horizon Organic supports the NOSB recommendation for guidance in the regulation that would call for an average of 30 percent dry matter intake from grazing for 120 days. However, we strongly believe all dairy farms should maximize their dairy herd's feed from grazing during the growing season.
Pasture Management
On our farms, pastures represent more than grass. This is evident from our pasture management goal: healthier soils, animals and humans while profitably renewing our life-supporting environment. Done right, organic agricultural practices positively affect our environment by rejuvenating plant growth, reducing resource degradation, and nurturing animals.
Livestock and pasture management go hand-in-hand on our farms because our certified organic pastures play and integral role in our livestock feeding program. Consistent with NOP regulations, we do not use harmful chemicals or pesticides that can pollute our air, water and food. Our farms use sustainable and holistic pasture management practices, work to eliminate outside inputs, and use planned grazing to improve soil fertility, plant growth and herd health.
Holistic Management International practices
We believe the natural complexity of land, livestock and plants are part of one natural interdependent system and, as such, must be managed together as one. Our farms incorporate the farm and pasture management practices developed originally by Allan Savory of Holistic Management International (HMI). The holistic approach focuses on producing a health product while regenerating the resource base from which it comes, which requires managing all aspects of our dairy farms not individually but rather as part of an entire ecosystem.
Freedom of Movement
Cows are social beings. They have herding and bunching instincts and exhibit certain group behaviors which provide important health benefits from them. For that reason, we make sure our cows are free to move about whenever they are not being milked or receiving individual care. Our cattle are free to graze, exercise and interact with the outdoors. Even when they are indoors, we make sure our animals have plenty of room to turn around, lie down or move about.
Environmental Stewardship
We provide high quality milk through farming practices that conserve and replenish our biological resources. Our farms are committed to regenerative farm management practices, which recognize that we are part of a broader ecosystem. As such, we must respect and protect the natural world –soil, water, air, plants, and wildlife – as well as our livestock and land.
As environmental stewards, our farms are focused on natural resource conservation. We are committed to:
- Constantly improving soil and water quality to benefit all creatures.
- Reducing erosion and building organic matter.
- Maintaining or improving wetlands and woodlands.
- Eliminating the use of toxic and persistent chemical pesticides and fertilizers which can harm wildlife.
- Regular monitoring and testing for methane gas.
- Monitoring and managing water quality and efficiency.
- Focusing on animal health and productivity, which reflects the health of the land.
- Creating sustainable plant communities through careful attention to plant diversity, age, and class structure.
- Reducing overall energy use in farm operations.
Sourcing Inputs
All farm inputs – including feedstuffs, natural minerals, and crop and forage seed, bedding materials, as well as animal health care and pest control products – have the potential to affect the integrity of organic milk. Therefore, these inputs must be certified organic or approved for organic use, in compliance with the NOP standards as established by the USDA, and carefully controlled, researched, verified, and recorded.
Management and Accountability
Day-to-day operations on our farms are guided by two plans. The first is an Organic Systems Plan (OSP), which is very detailed and developed prior to the start of each year. The OSP is designed to ensure compliance with the USDA regulations and facilitate the audit done on our farms each year in order to receive our organic certification. In addition to the OSP, we also develop a plan that includes new initiatives that we deems necessary for our farms.
Between our own internal quality control systems and extensive record-keeping, and the oversight and enforcement of the USDA, our farms are help closely accountable to meeting the highest standards for milk quality, animal welfare and environmental stewardship.
