CHIMACUM — Going organic at Bishop Dairy Farm was truly a move to greener pastures, says the farm’s now-smiling owner Gerald Bishop.
“I’ve been doing this for 50 years, and this is my best year ever,” said Bishop, whose family a year ago shifted his dairy’s milk sales to Organic Valley CROPP Cooperative.
The move saved the 100-Holstein dairy, making it the first state-certified organic milk producer in Jefferson County.
Before going organic, Gerald Bishop was selling his milk at the same price he got in the early 1970s.
The benefits of going organic included a substantial increase in the dairy’s milk price, now at $27.30 per 100 pounds, which has increased more than $2 per 100 pounds over the past year to compensate for rising feed prices.
A year ago, the Bishops were selling to Darigold at about $11 per 100 pounds.
