Mammoth farms, such as Aurora Organic Dairy’s 15,000-cow High Plains complex, can illustrate “critical weaknesses in the unorthodox inspection system that the Agriculture Department uses to ensure that ‘organic’ food really is organic,” says the Washington Post. In a front-page story, the Post says eight visits to High Plains from August to October 2016 raised doubts about whether the farm follows the USDA’s organic rules requiring its cows graze on pasture and whether third-party inspectors can assure compliance with them.
“The problems at an entity such as Aurora suggest that even large, prominent players can fall short of standards without detection,” said the Post. An Aurora spokeswoman disagreed with some of the Post’s observations, including, for example, its contention that although the USDA says cows should be allowed to graze daily throughout the growing season, relatively few High Plains cows were on pasture when it visited. Aurora also disputed the results of tests performed by the Post to see if the company’s milk contained indicators of grass-feeding.
The Cornucopia Institute, a self-described organic watchdog, filed complaints with the USDA against Aurora and its organic certifier, the Colorado Agriculture Department. Cornucopia also asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to remove Miles McEvoy as administrator of the National Organic Program. “The NOP has been involved in an illegal cover-up,” claimed Cornucopia. It said that McEvoy refused to release documents about Aurora and inspections of the High Plains farm. The Post said the annual audit of High Plains for compliance with organic standards was performed in November, after the end of the growing season, which made it impossible for inspectors to know if the herd was on pasture as required.