Organic milk has health benefits for consumers and price benefits for dairy owners, and people from across Arkansas gathered at Mike and Susan Fisher’s organic dairy in Beebe on Tuesday for a day-long seminar to learn about transitioning to a fully organic dairy. The Fishers, who have been in the dairy business for 21 years and have 75 milk cows, became one of six organic dairies in Arkansas in June, though other dairies are in transition, according to posters from the University of Arkansas.

“We went 100 percent organic on June 6,” Mike Fisher said. “We went organic because of the fixed price for milk.”

Though they have been an organic dairy for only a short time, Fisher said it was “certainly worth” the transition. Ten Arkansas dairy farmers signed up in June 2006 to transition to organic and qualified under the 80:20 rule, allowing them to use 20 percent non-organic feed for the first nine months of the transition period. However, that rule changed on June 9, 2006 and producers signing up after that time must use 100 percent organic feed or purchase organic heifers.

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