Richard Price

Wisconsin Dairy Farmer Joins OFAN Contingent in Nation's Capitol

WASHINGTON, DC – Richard Price runs a grass-based, organic dairy in north central Wisconsin, a region of rolling hills and river valleys with a few rocks thrown in to keep things interesting.  Having certified his small dairy in 1996, Price affiliated with the Organic Valley Cooperative in 1999 and remains with the marketing group.

He says he made the switch to organic partly because the farm gate price for conventional milk was too low, and partly because he was already using many organic practices on his farm.

“As I read articles about organics, I thought, you know, this would fit for me. I’m pasturing cows. I’m really a low-cost, low-input producer. It would really fit my bill. So I just kind of went that way.”

Price recently decided to get more involved in farm policy discussions, and linked up with the Organic Farmers Action Network, an OFRF project. In April, Price joined a group of OFAN farmers going to Washington, DC for visits with lawmakers. They aimed to stess the need to fully fund organic research through programs approved in the 2008 Farm Bill.

Price visited the offices of Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl and Rep. Ron Kind, and he said it was important to let legislators know what he, as a dairy producer, was thinking and feeling because it would help inform their votes on future farm legislation.