On January 18, 2022, NOC joined several NOC member organizations (MOFGA, NODPA, NOFA-NH, NOFA-NY, NOFA-VT) and the Organic Farmers Association in submitting testimony to the House Judiciary Committee in advance of a hearing on “Addressing the Effect of Economic Concentration in America’s Food Supply.”

Our written testimony detailed consolidation in the organic dairy market and the crisis resulting from the termination of contracts by Horizon Organic (owned by Danone North America) for 89 Northeast organic family farms. As we explain in our testimony:

“Consolidation of the organic dairy market gives disproportionate power to international companies to dominate both the supply side and the retail market, which has resulted in a lack of regional processing infrastructure in the Northeast and only one buyer for organic milk. That one buyer can set the price and conditions of any contract or cooperative agreement, leaving the organic dairy farmer only two choices, take the deal or leave organic dairy (or dairy farming altogether), with the resulting repercussions on their family and their rural community.”

Our testimony urges policymakers to make the following changes to address concentration in organic dairy:

The Department of Justice should investigate the effect of lack of competition in New England and eastern New York in light of Danone’s decision to exit the region, and propose new remedies to restore competition in the region. The results of this investigation should inform future updates to federal guidelines on horizontal and vertical merger approvals.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice should work with the inter-departmental White House Competition Council (established by President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy) to examine the organic dairy market in the Northeast as a case study of loss of resilience and harm to farmers caused by consolidation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture should immediately finalize long-delayed standards governing the transition of dairy cows into organic production and step up enforcement of organic pasture standards to level the playing field for smaller organic dairy operations.

You can read the full testimony here. You can also watch the hearing and read testimony submitted by other organizations including a statement Ms. Allison Johnson, Sustainable Food Policy Advocate at Natural Resources Defense Council (a NOC Network Affiliate) - Ms. Johnson served as a witness during the hearing. Consumer Reports (a NOC member) and the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (a NOC Network Affiliate) also submitted testimony.

NOC Submits Testimony on Concentration in Organic Dairy