For 85 years, we’ve made it a priority to take good care of our cows, and we’re doing the same thing with our organic herd. We use our own
cows on our own Arizona farm, so it’s fresher, tastes better and it’s a great value. And we follow specific guidelines to make sure
our milk is good, healthy and certified organic.
Here’s a fun fact: just one of our organic cows produces up to 55 pounds of milk a day, which is just over 6 gallons!
We like to think it’s a sign of contentment. In fact, at Shamrock Farms, we’ve always treated our cows well. We know that when we’re
good to them, they’re good to us. We give them plenty of room in their stalls, access to the outdoors and lots of healthy food to
eat.
Not only that, we take care of the land they’re raised on. Shamrock Farms emphasizes renewable resources and the conservation of
soil and water. After all, we want to enhance the quality of our herd’s environment, and preserve it for generations to come.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has put in place a set of national standards that must be met in order to wear the label
“USDA-Certified Organic.” They’re the highest organic production and handling standards in the world, and we live by them here
at the farm. To be considered truly organic, we have to qualify in three key areas—what our cows eat, where they live and how
they’re treated.
A government-approved certifier inspects the land where organic food is grown. Our pastures must have no prohibited substances
applied to them for at least three years before our organic herd can graze from them. That means no pesticides, petroleum-based
fertilizers, or sewage sludge–based fertilizers. The same goes for the land where our feed is grown.
Our herd is also inspected annually to make sure we’re living up to USDA organic standards. They cannot be treated with hormones
or antibiotics of any kind, and they must have traditional access to fresh air and sunshine. They have to be free to graze in pasture
for what’s called ruminants—in other words, they have to be able to chew their cud! Our organic cows have 120 acres of green
pasture to roam in, and of course our herd has always been free of the growth hormone rBST.
In addition to USDA certification, Shamrock Farms organic dairy products are certified by Quality Assurance International (QAI),
an independent non-profit organization that certifies our product handling from the field to your grocer’s shelf. QAI certification
documents the authenticity of our organic farming and is just one more level of assurance for our customers.
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