In Earth, Texas, the cows are happy, healthy and humanely cared for on the 3,000-acre organic farm that that produces County Line Farms’ milk, grazing naturally and enjoying the fresh, clean, West Texas air. The Validus-certified Jersey crossbred and Holstein cows that make the milk two times a day get to eat organically grown grasses, alfalfa and sorghum forages.

These food sources are free from chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. County Line Farms’ own crops are watered with clean, natural well water, fresh from the underground Ogallala aquifer. The cows get to enjoy the sun, grasses, flowers, fresh air, and natural exercise that keeps them healthy and free from stress. This all produces wonderfully flavored milk that imparts all its nutrients with out the toxic baggage of grocery store fare.

The fact that it’s produced locally also means that it carries a smaller carbon footprint than transshipped products and isn’t as heavily processed as even other big national brands that have to think about extended shelf-life of their milk and other dairy products. Even the packing is well thought out, because those plasticized cardboard containers are hard to recycle. That’s why County Line puts their milk into half-gallon recyclable plastic jugs.

Milk from pasture-raised, organic cows contains naturally higher levels of vitamin E, natural and healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene and other antioxidants. Our brains and spinal columns need these natural elements in food to function at optimum levels, and processed food products often add dried fish oil to make this claim.

Don’t be misled by the term “natural,” on packaging, because only “organic” products are produced under tightly controlled conditions without the use of pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMO), ionizing radiation, antibiotics or growth hormones. Natural products have no official USDA or other governmental regulation.

All of these factors do contribute to a higher retail price for organic dairy products, compared to conventional dairy products from standard dairy farms. The cost to certify a farm’s pastures, the higher prices to grow organic feed and the added labor for organic farm production, along with the acute monitoring of cow health, all contribute to the well-deserved, higher prices of the organic dairy products. Your support helps our local economy and the future of your local family farms. Choosing these products will most certainly provide a greater chance for a life-long pattern that will benefit us all.

For more information visit CountyLineDairy.com.