Northeast Institutional Market Demand for Organic Dairy

what would It take to increase and meet demand for organic dairy products across the region?

The Northeast Institution Market Demand for Organic Dairy Report sets out to answer this question.

Funded by the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, the report was led by Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA) and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of VT (NOFA-VT), with support from Northbound Ventures Consulting, LLC and Farm to Institution New England (FINE).

Project Background and Objectives: 

In 1982, there were over 10,000 dairy farm operations in New England. As of 2020, just 1,155 licensed dairy herds remained. Of these, 19% or 214 are represented by organic operations.

In fall 2021, 89 organic dairy farms across Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and New York received contract termination notices from their processor, Horizon Organic, which is owned by parent company Danone. Similar notices from Maple Hill Creamery followed for another 46 organic dairies in New York. This devastating news prompted the formation of the Northeast Dairy Task Force to respond to and support the region’s dairy sector. From the task force’s meetings over the course of two months, an interest to explore institutional market demand to increase organic dairy sales emerged. 

This report represents one of the project’s three distinct areas of research–an institutional market assessment for organic dairy products. 

Read the Report:

Access key findings, institutional market sector profiles, institutional stakeholder findings, and more in the Northeast Institutional Market Demand for Organic Dairy Report.