Boulder, Colo.-The Colorado-based Organic Center has developed a special calculator that allows users to measure the benefits of organic management of dairy cows. For example, calculations show some 40 million pounds of fertilizer, along with 758,000 pounds of pesticides, being saved by shifting dairy cows from conventional to organic management. According to Dr. Charles Benbrook, the center’s chief scientist and the study author, the calculator was developed to help consumers, dairy farmers, and food companies estimate the avoided environmental, public health, and animal welfare impacts associated with changing dairy cows over to organic management. “It gives us the means to uniformly measure the extent to which organic dairy operations prevent toxic materials from entering our air, water, soil, and in some cases, our food and drinking water.” He points out that some of the animal drugs and pesticides used to support milk production have been linked to health problems in cows, as well as human disorders such as developmental problems, miscarriages, the onset of Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, allergic asthma, and more. According to USDA organic standards, no artificial hormones or antibiotics are allowed for use on organic dairy farms. Organic regulations also prohibit the use of toxic and persistent chemicals for growing and maintaining pasture and in the production of grain and forage-based feeds. Chemical nitrogen fertilizer is also prohibited. The tool is available free of charge in the form of a Microsoft Excel-based calculator at www.organic-center.org.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain