For over 22 years, RAW FARM has been #DODAIRYDIFFERENT. When we say #DODAIRYDIFFERENT, we are really saying #DODAIRYBEST because this is our goal. Our goal is simple: Make the cleanest milk in the world, keep it raw and wholesome to the consumer, and work in cooperation with our ecosystem while we do it. In this blog, I will go into detail about the last part of our goal: farming in cooperation with our ecosystem. Here are some of the ways we strive for excellence in farming:

OPTIMAL FARMING Land

Our farming land is inspected annually by CCOF where they rigorously verify our seeds, inputs, materials, and practices. Our farming practices include: protecting riparian areas, use of natural predators to control rodents versus using traps and chemicals, never using prohibited substances in herbicides, only using untreated seed, never using prohibited fertilizers for production gains but rather manure and other natural sources of key fertility, and being mindful of water use and other resources. We follow all these guidelines in our farming practices and try to do them at the highest possible level, not just the minimum required.

Regenerative Agriculture

We believe that a key component of optimal farming is regenerative agriculture: giving back to the soil and ecosystem. We do this with carbon sequestration from our rotational cows grazing on the pasture. We do this by never fumigating and preserving the soil biome health with earthworms and a competitive flora and fauna. We do this with our shredding systems where we reincorporate the carbon and excess green waste back into the pastures to form a healthy protective layer beneath the pasture surface. We do this with our irrigation management which reduces runoff and erosion. We embrace a full ecosystem where coyotes, hawks, owls, and even farm dogs play an important role in keeping the rodent population in a natural balance. We do this, and much more because we have seen that the benefits of strong production without the use of synthetic fertilizers, speak for themselves.

Herd Management

We made the decision in early 2020 to go above and beyond on our herd management. We believe that the most important practice is to keep the milk RAW and unprocessed. Our products share no connection with highly processed, long shelf life, added sugar, and other practices commonly used in the other dairy products we compete with. We believe our greatest differentiation is in the systems we embrace to ensure we can make milk that is so clean that it does not need to be heat processed. We also believe in the holistic practices that we had mastered for 21+ years as sustainable dairy farmers. So, we adopted a hybrid approach to our herd management. We use only feeds that have been tested for GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) with our on-farm test kits (https://www.romerlabs.com/en/products/test-kits/gmo/). Every alfalfa load is prescreened in the field BEFORE we receive the hay. All our corn and canola are prescreened by the vendor and then tested on the farm. This is the detailed protocol we use to ensure all the feed the cows eat is from local, non-GMO sources. Next, we treat the cows with the utmost care and homeopathic remedies. We continue our core principle of pasture grazing on our milk cows during the grazing season and our dry cows and heifers graze all year long. We do not use any prohibited substances in the milk barn, or in cleaning our systems. We believe that simple dairy management yields higher quality milk.

RAW FARM

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Our decision to change from fully Certified Organic to Non-GMO Project VERIFIED was made in 2020. Prior to 2020, when we bought Certified Organic feed, we had difficulty sourcing feed that was not moldy or of poor quality; ironically, sometimes the organic feed would test positive for GMOs (despite being nearly twice the cost of Local Non-GMO Project VERIFIED feed sources). Sourcing organic feed is very difficult and most organic feed travels on semi-trucks from out-of-state farms, which adds EXORBITANT transport costs and creates a massive carbon footprint. It doesn’t settle well with us knowing that 80,000-pound trucks were using huge amounts of fuel, oil, tires, to move feed from multiple states away when a local Non-GMO source was available from neighbors. It felt like we were doing more harm than good when maintaining our “organic certification status” when we had local Non-GMO Project VERIFIED sources right next door. At the end of the day, our Here is our COMMITMENT TO YOU.

WE WILL NEVER:

Use GMOS, glyphosate or other harmful spray chemicals or pesticides on our crops or cows
Stop our long-practiced tradition and pursuit of sustainable, regenerative and eco-friendly farming practices
Give our milk cows antibiotics or hormones
Stop using natural farming methods, even though we are no longer certified organic.

RAW FARM is now solely Non-GMO Project VERIFIED. Our cattle feed is sourced locally and is tested to verify for GMO’s. Buying local matches our commitment to our community, a low carbon footprint, being resilient and adaptive, being a sustainable earth-friendly farm. We have a deep commitment to the pioneering spirit, ethical core values and a vision for only the BEST QUALITY Tested and Safe raw dairy products for our family of customers.

We believe in the powerful healing properties of raw dairy, we are committed to raw and unprocessed, and we are always going to lead the fight for access to raw foods.