A Wisconsin based dairy, Red Barn Farms, is marketing a new milk with the term “humanely produced” on the label. The milk will be sold at the Sendik’s Food Markets in near Milwaukee, Wis. The price for this specially labeled milk is expected to be more than conventional milk but less than organic milk.
The milk from Appleton-based Red Barn Family Farms provides another choice for consumers concerned about animal care as well as milk quality, said Terry Homan, a veterinarian and founder of the firm.
“We truly believe that if the stable, or barn, itself produces a comfortable life and if cows are treated as a mother should be treated, the results will be obvious,” the firm states on its Web site.
Scott Rankin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of food science, said some consumers may find the “humanely produced” label important. But there’s a danger that some could infer that milk that does not carry such a label comes from farmers who treat their animals poorly, he said.
“We don’t want people to get confused and think it means those cows (without the label) are not humanely cared for,” added Shelly Mayer, executive director for the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin.
Red Barn’s milk comes from three small, family farms in the Seymour area, said Homan, who has a veterinary practice there. More farms may be added later, he said. The American Humane Association, a national animal-welfare organization, has certified the farms’ milk as humanely produced, validating the farmers’ efforts, Homan said.
“The purpose is not to criticize anyone,” he said.
Tim Amlaw, manager of the American Humane Association certification program, said nearly 200 dairy farms around the country have received certification from his group. Numbers have been increasing in part because of hypersensitivity created by reports about “downer” cattle too sick or injured to stand being slaughtered and sold in California.