Organic Valley's Grassmilk products

[takadi]

http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/milk/grassmilk/

It seems that Organic Valley some time recently launched 100 percent grassfed non-homogenized milk. They also have raw cheddar made from said milk. This to my knowledge is the only commercially available 100 percent grass fed milk (or so they claim it to be 100 percent). It says on their website that it's available at Whole Foods but I have not seen this in any recent trip I've made. Is this a regional thing? Is it seasonal?

For those who have tried it, how is the taste and quality compared to other grassfed milk or other organic dairy products? Is the price reasonable?

Edited December 10, 2013 by takadi (log)

[Ttogull]

I bought it at Mom's Organic store in MD. I usually buy Natural by Nature, which is also 100% grassfed. I am not sure the difference in taste was huge (but both are a LOT better than typical grocery store milk). The OV version would be better for making some cheeses as it is nonhomogenized and, IIRC, low heat pasteurized. I'm not real helpful here, I guess, other than to confirm it exists.

[Martin Fisher]

"100% grass-fed cows."

I would like to know how they define 100% grass-fed cows.

I've been in dairying all my life which has included a seasonal pasture-based dairy for several years.

100% grass-fed (pasture-fed really, cows eat more than grass) isn't easily possible in the dairying areas of this country....far from it!

It's marketing BS!

[takadi]

I buy Nature by Nature a lot. I was not aware that it was 100 percent grassfed, just pastured.

Diggingdogfarm - according to their site, how they define themselves as "100 percent grassfed" is that they don't supplement their feed at any time with grains or legumes. How true this is, I'm not sure.

I did find this little tidbit here though that has to do with California's labeling laws.

http://organicvalley.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/366

So apparently in California, their 2% cannot be labeled 100 percent grassfed because there is a level of milk solids that must be in the milk and they add that from conventionally fed sources

Edited December 10, 2013 by takadi (log)

[Ttogull]

I buy Nature by Nature a lot. I was not aware that it was 100 percent grassfed, just pastured.

You are correct. I remembered the words grass fed on the front...

[Lisa Shock]

Their farms have to be in the far south, where winter doesn't have much of an effect on plant growth. When I lived in Maryland and raised cattle, next door to a dairy farm, we had snow off and on from October through April and relied a lot on hay, silage and feed grain to keep the animals alive through the winter.

[Martin Fisher]

I'm not buying it, there aren't any deep south dairies listed on their website......even in the deep south there's drought and occasional (and not so occasional) winter weather to deal with....dairy cattle need premium pasture in order to produce milk solely on pasture....their nutritional requirements FAR exceed beef cattle and the like.

I'd like to know specifically what farms contribute to the "Grassmilk".

Even in New Zealand where pasture milk production is a big deal....cows are fed ensilage from clamps as well as other stored feed in the off-season and during drought.

The ensilage is technically made from "grass" so I would suppose that would fit into the "100% "grass"-fed cows." definition, but the benefits of "grass" fed milk come for milk produced from grazing pasture-fed cows.

???

[Martin Fisher]

Okay...here's their definition and as I suspected, the cows are not truly "100% grass-fed"....

"100% grass-fed animals receive only fresh pasture and dried forages, like hay. They may consume supplements as needed, but never receive grain rations."

[takadi]

Cows consuming dried forage like hay doesn't compromise the integrity of the "100 percent grass fed" label to me. The main benefit of 100 percent grass fed milk as opposed to other milk is the fat content, which contains a substantially higher omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acid ratio, which changes drastically when the cows are fed any types of grain. I do wonder what the supplements are, but I highly doubt what they give has even a negligible effect on the grass fed label

Edited December 11, 2013 by takadi (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Well, hay (or dried forage) isn't necessarily "grass" in the preferred sense. It could mean a LOT of different things. It may even mean grain straw (oat, wheat, rye, triticale), a common pastured dairy cattle feed/supplement.

Supplements that aren't grain could also mean a lot of different things.....including but not limited to vitamins and minerals, obviously...but pasture fed cows are often also supplemented with fiber because fiber can be converted to butterfat by cattle and butterfat commands a premium.....beet pulp, citrus peels, soy hulls, cottonseed hulls, etc.. etc. etc.

[takadi]

http://organicvalley.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/367

"Like any lactating mammal, humans included, a cow's nutritional and energy needs greatly increase when she produces milk. Grassmilk cows are provided with the highest quality organic fresh pasture grasses and legumes (such as alfalfa and clover) in summer, dried grasses and legumes in the winter, and supplements in the form of minerals, vitamins, and molasses year-round. Molasses is produced by crushing the leaves of cane grass."

I'm unsure what they mean by legumes...that could mean a lot of things. Do they consider soybeans a legume or a grain? Also does feeding grain straw affect nutritional content the same way that grain like corn does? Is grain straw nutritional similar to grasses to where it makes no difference? Also by their wording it seems like the extent of their supplementation is limited to vitamins, minerals, and molasses. Lots of interesting things to consider here...I'd probably be interested in emailing them or researching more into the topic.

[janeer]

There was a story on NPR today on organic milk and Omega 3s that you might be interested in

[takadi]

There was a story on NPR today on organic milk and Omega 3s that you might be interested in

Ha.. I *just* read that article a few minutes ago, saw someone post it on facebook

[Martin Fisher]

Soybeans are technically a legume, of course, but the beans themselves are almost always referred to as a "grain."
How straw would affect the nutritional value of the milk would depend on how much is fed...even so, there isn't a heck of a lot of nutritional value in straw...it's usually fed for roughage and as a fiber supplement.

As far as supplements go It's hard to tell for sure what and how much they're really fed.

What's more important than meeting some special definition is that pastured dairy cows are properly fed and supplemented to meet their very special nutritional needs.

In general and not related to any particular brand, entity or product: I don't trust labels. There's a lot of of money involved and consequently some shady goings-on in "specialty" milk production....I know that for a fact because I've seen it with my own eyes. You may or may not get what you think you're getting.

Edited December 11, 2013 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Ttogull]

There was a story on NPR today on organic milk and Omega 3s that you might be interested in

Probably connected to an article yesterday in NYT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/health/organic-milk-high-in-helpful-fatty-acids-study-finds.html

[rotuts]

best take some time and look into what Omega 3's really are.

you really are looking for EPA and DHA. this may or may not be present in something that has increased Omega 3's

usually its just the pre-cursor to the above: found in flax seed and oil.

that's what is minimally in those eggs that are so expensive that have " More Omega 3's !!! "

Omega 3 is just the third carbon atom in a chain ( fatty acids here ) thats a double bond.

Edited December 11, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[takadi]

I'm aware of EPA and DHA. I'm taking fish oil supplements right now but I'd like to switch my diet over to one that is much higher in omega 3's so I don't have to...

[rotuts]

" EPA and DHA "

you wont find much of these outside of oily fish that live in very cold waters.

sardines come to mind. in the tin w oil not water.

i doubt, but would like to be proved wrong by independent tests, there is much of these two in cow's milk.

[HungryC]

In my corner of the coastal deepest south USA, is is entirely possible to have grassfed dairy animals, year round. I can think of three different dairys who manage this, and all three are at least a hundred miles north of me. So it's working in the climate zones 8/8b, 9, and 9b. Granted, all three are fairly small, selling at farmer's markets & directly from the farm. But it is entirely feasible in the right climate.

Heck, I'm mowing the winter rye in my backyard every two weeks. It was seeded in early Oct, and it will grow until mid-April. The pastures behind my house have beautiful winter rye & fat/happy Angus right now. A fall/winter calving season is preferred for beef, as the winter pasture grasses are higher in nutrients than the summer stuff.

[takadi]

" EPA and DHA "

you wont find much of these outside of oily fish that live in very cold waters.

sardines come to mind. in the tin w oil not water.

i doubt, but would like to be proved wrong by independent tests, there is much of these two in cow's milk.

If I drank grass fed milk and changed nothing else about my diet, it would be nowhere near the amount of DHA/EPA to have any real beneficial effects. But changing this aspect of my diet as well as countless other aspects of my diet will gradually increase my omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, which is my goal. Yes eating more cold water fish (which I am) is the biggest step to take, but I see no reason to give up my dairy or meat to accomplish my goals when simple changes of sourcing can make all the difference.

Edited December 11, 2013 by takadi (log)

[takadi]

I live near DC. What's the other brand of milk called?

[Martin Fisher]

In my corner of the coastal deepest south USA, is is entirely possible to have grassfed dairy animals, year round. I can think of three different dairys who manage this, and all three are at least a hundred miles north of me. So it's working in the climate zones 8/8b, 9, and 9b. Granted, all three are fairly small, selling at farmer's markets & directly from the farm. But it is entirely feasible in the right climate.

Heck, I'm mowing the winter rye in my backyard every two weeks. It was seeded in early Oct, and it will grow until mid-April. The pastures behind my house have beautiful winter rye & fat/happy Angus right now. A fall/winter calving season is preferred for beef, as the winter pasture grasses are higher in nutrients than the summer stuff.

Of course it's possible, we did it for years (seasonally)...what I said is "it's not easy" for several reasons not just climate and there's much more to fluid milk marketing (of any type) than meets the eyes...there are a lot of federal laws involved....not just quality and safety laws but price, marketing and distribution laws as well......it's very complex.

Edited December 11, 2013 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Hassouni]

I live near DC. What's the other brand of milk called?

Trickling Springs- it comes in old-school glass bottles only. There's another in similar bottles called Homestead Creamery, but that's mostly though not entirely pasture/grass-fed (I currently have a bottle of that because they were sold out of my size of the Trickling Springs. It's good, but the TS has something extra)

[takadi]

I went to whole foods today and alas I finally found the grassmilk! Tried it and it's very mild and has substantial mouthfeel. Flavor-wise I really can't tell the difference...there's no off flavors like I find with conventional milk or cooked milk flavors with ultra-pasteurized milk so I guess that's good. It's very clean tasting

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As an avid milk drinker I've tried Trickling Springs, both milk and cream. I like the idea but not the reality. I don't have a vehicle so the bottle returns are a real pain. And if I have to carry something in glass bottles I'd rather it be rum. Unfortunately I tried the cream before I got into ice cream making. The cream spoiled before I got to use any of it at all.

The milk reminded me of the milk from when I was growing up, and not in a good way. I wish there was some affordable home homogenizer on the market. And having to knife through a plug of solid butterfat to get a sip of watery, thin milk is just an added inconvenience.