Food from the Heartland

Have you ever seen an 800-pound Holstein kick up her heels? How about 40 or 50 velvet-soft newborn calves taking in the springtime air? Would you be interested in seeing rare Minnesota songbirds bobbing on tall stalks of grass in the June sunshine? I know! How about a picnic near a fast-moving, crystal clear stream in southern Minnesota?

This spring, you'll find all of the above (and some goodies for your picnic basket) at the three southeastern Minnesota farms that make up the PastureLand dairy cooperative. PastureLand members are pioneering small-scale, sustainable, pasture-based farming practices and making rich yellow butter and distinctive artisan cheeses with the milk produced on these farms. Look for PastureLand's Summer Gold butter in the dairy case at the Wedge.

PastureLand butter and cheese are being noticed by chefs and food connoisseurs locally and nationally. Chef Jeremiah Tower, formerly of San Francisco's Chez Pannisse and Stars restaurants, has called PastureLand butter "the best butter made in America, comparable to any French butter." The not-so-surprising connection - take a stroll on a farm in Normandy and you'll find the cows munching on lush green grass!

PastureLand was founded in 1999 by six farm families who were excited about the possibility of offering distinctive, local products from the milk of the pastured dairy herds. The goal of the cooperative is to enable its member farms to farm profitably while staying small and retaining their emphasis on animal health and environmental stewardship. PastureLand began to market cheese and butter about two years ago.

Every PastureLand farm is planted almost entirely in pasture grasses, and cows are turned out to harvest their own feed at its peak nutritional value. This is a stark contrast to "modern" conventional dairy techniques, where cows are housed indoors year-round. Farmers who utilize this "confinement" technique must spend a great deal of time, energy and fossil fuels planting and harvesting the grains that their animals eat.

The environmental benefits of pasture-based farming are numerous. As pastures mature and evolve, they become complex ecosystems that support a wealth of plant and animal life. The cows deposit their "fertilizer" naturally as they graze, and the deep roots of the pasture actually filter surface and ground water. Synthetic fertilizers and herbicides are not needed.

PastureLand farmers use no antibiotics or hormones, including rBGH/ rBST, to enhance the productivity of their herds. Instead, the cooperative is actively engaged in developing holistic alternatives to the use of medications, and will host an event in the spring to help farmers learn about effective alternative treatments. Cows on PastureLand farms are housed outdoors year-round (with appropriate shelter and windbreaks in the wintertime), and as a result live long, healthy lives. Studies have shown that pastured dairy cows live two to three times longer (4-8 years) than cows living in confinement dairy operations.

PastureLand member farms are inspected and certified by the Midwest Food Alliance, a third-party certification agency that emphasizes environmental stewardship, animal health, and fair labor practices. The Midwest Food Alliance has chosen to incorporate pasture-based standards as the cornerstone of its dairy certification standards because of the many benefits that grazing provides for animals, humans, and the environment. For more information about the Midwest Food Alliance and its standards, go to the website at www.thefoodalliance.com/midwest/html