RE: Claravale Milk - cleaned up version

[Guest guest]

Claravale Farm is a small (45 cow) dairy located on the coast of Monterey

Bay near ville, California. The Dairy was founded in 1927 and has

been in continuous operation, producing totally unprocessed, raw, natural

whole and nonfat milk and cream ever since.

Our dairy produces milk of the highest quality possible using old fashioned,

totally natural, time honored dairying methods dating from the 1930's and

before, before the more recent move toward large scale, factory farming in

California. Our products are entirely unique in California. Our milk is raw,

but it is more than that. It is entirely unprocessed in any way. It is not

pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, or fortified. Claravale Farm milk is

also the only milk available in California which comes entirely from Jersey

Cows, an old fashioned breed which is world renowned for the quality of the

milk it produces, being naturally higher in cream, proteins, solids, and

beta-caroteen than other breeds. Back in the time prior to the 1950's, when

people used to have a choice of the milk they could buy, Jersey and Guernsey

milk were considered " table milk " , that is, milk which you would drink,

whereas milk from other breeds would be used to cook with or make other

products. The Price-Pottenger Foundation, in their campaign for " real milk "

recommend milk from Jersey and Guernsey cows over other breeds. All other

milk sold in California, including other raw milks, come primarily from

Holsteins and do not have the other qualities of Claravale products. In

addition, due to their breeding, Holstein milk apparently contains naturally

higher levels of bovine growth hormone than Jerseys.

Integral to the way in which we produce this superior quality milk is a

limited production. Just like an upper end farmstead cheese, it can't be

mass produced in a factory setting. To do so would be to change it to an

extent that would eliminate its character and value. For this reason, we

have kept our dairy small and will continue to produce limited amounts of

milk.

For the past 4 or so years, we have been supplying natural and health food

stores in southern California with our milk through an independent

distributor to whom we gave exclusive distribution rights. We have run into

a major problem with this distributor.

This distributor recently dropped our products in favor of a new dairy from

whom they could get a larger volume of product. This is fine with me except

that the way they made this switch had the effect of destroying our business

in southern California and placing us on the verge of bankruptcy. Even

though we had milk available, our distributor stopped distributing our milk

weeks before their new dairy had product available, creating an artificial

crisis and a vacuum into which they could bring their new product without

any competition. The way in which our distributor made this switch caused a

great deal of unnecessary confusion and trouble and loss of revenue for

stores and inconvenience for customers and has ruined our credibility in the

southern California market. If our distributor had notified us of their

intention to switch dairies when they first began negotiations with their

new dairy, we would have had ample time to find a new distributor and

service to stores and customers would not have been interrupted. Instead,

they chose to do the switch in a way which benefited themselves at the

expense of ourselves and our customers.

We have now engaged a new distributor, Doug Call, an established

independent, who would like to supply Claravale products to southern

California. Unfortunately, due largely, I think, to the actions of our old

distributor, stores in southern California, and especially the Whole Foods

chain are apparently hesitant to put our products back on the shelf even

though, when our old distributor was distributing our products they

apparently sold quite well in southern California. We are not on the shelves

in southern California not because we don't have a customer base, or a

distributor, or product (because we have all of those) but because of the

self serving acts of our old distributor who is now our competitor.

As I mentioned above, the sudden withdrawal of our milk from the southern

California market has been devastating for our dairy. We feel that there is

plenty of room in the California market for more than one raw milk dairy.

While we produce a limited amount of milk, and in no way wish to supply the

entire market, in order to stay in business we must sell the milk we

produce.

If we cannot regain access to southern California markets it is unlikely

that we will survive and if we do not survive then our customers in northern

California will be deprived of our products as well. It would be very

unfortunate for us and for raw and natural food consumers in California if

Claravale Dairy, which has been producing natural, raw dairy products for 75

years, were to fold due to market manipulation.

After all of the effort that people have expended in the last few years to

promote raw milk in California and get it distributed to southern California

and legalized in Los Angeles County it would be a giant step backwards to

lose one of only two raw milk producers in the state.

In order to stay in business we need your help. The stores in southern

California indicate that if their customers request Claravale milk they will

carry it again. If you would like to have access to Claravale milk again or

feel that there is room in the California marketplace for a variety of

natural milk products, please contact your store representatives and let

them know how you feel. Following is a list of stores in southern California

which are serviced by our new distributor and who thus could obtain our

milk. If you shop at Whole Foods outlets please contact Bill Jordan

(818-501-8484; bill.jordan@w...) and/or Mark VanDerWeer (818-501-8484).

For other stores please contact the dairy buyer at the individual stores.

Also following, for your information, is a list of stores in northern

California which carry Claravale milk and cream.

Ron Garthwaite, owner Claravale Farm

345 Kliewer Ln ville, CA 95076 Home: (831) 722-7779 Voice: (831)

789-9525 e-mail: dairyqwn@p... (my wife's e-mail address so don't draw any

inferences)