We are proud to offer Kalona SuperNatural™ certified organic dairy products because organic agricultural practices ensure the long-term health of life on our planet, including the soil, plants, animals and people.
National Organic Dairy Program
A significant part of the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) for dairy is all about outdoor access and pasture. Certified organic producers are required to provide livestock with year-round access to the outdoors, recognize pasture as a crop, establish a management plan for pasture, incorporate a pasture management plan into their organic system plan, provide livestock with pasture throughout the grazing season for their geographical location (but no less than 120 days), and ensure livestock derive no less than 30 percent of their dry matter intake requirement from pasture grazed over the course of the grazing season.
Exceeding Grass-fed Minimums
Our farmers know that cows do best when they can harvest their own feed from the pastures around them. That being said, much of the year, the herds exceed the USDA grass-fed minimums by harvesting their own feed from the farms’ pastures. For example, in 2016, the weather here in Iowa was ideal for growing pasture. Most of our producers had their cows grazing on pasture from May to the end of October, some even had animals grazing into early November!
While on pasture, these cows indulge in a complex diet of native and managed plants and grasses that change throughout the seasons. These pastures may contain just one or two, or up to dozens of species of plants and grasses!
Our Commitment
Kalona SuperNatural™ is committed to supporting the Midwest small, family farms we work with. In fact, many of these farms are local Amish and Mennonite family farms where most of the work is still done by hand. We are invested in the lives of our producers and, in turn, they are invested in the integrity of the product we send to market. We strive to keep our product local, which allows these small farmers to make organic farming a viable lifestyle.