IN THIS ISSUE: Small is beautiful, but ...

Abstract

First paragraphs: On the cover of our spring 2023 issue (volume 12, issue 3), Samantha and Chris Kemnah enjoy a moment with their cows on Clover Bliss Farm, their 190-acre farm in South Argyle, New York. You can read more about the Kemnahs in a 2018 article in the Hill Country Observer by Tracy Frisch entitled “An escape route from dairy farming’s crisis?” Alas, the economic pressure Frisch referred to five years ago has remained for small dairy farmers—and particularly for small organic dairy farms. Since that article was written, the consumption of fluid milk has continued to decline even as organic milk has flooded into the limited market. In 2021, Danone North America (owner of the Horizon Milk brand) cancelled contracts with dozens of small organic dairy farms in the Northeast U.S., triggering an economic crisis and calling into question Danone’s certified B Corporation status. Observers have wondered, how could a company that promotes itself as farm-friendly not offer a more engaging and deliberative process in making such a consequential business decision? But this case triggers an even larger question: while small may be beautiful, can small and middle-scale also be resilient, even in a triple bottom-line context? . . .