Tom Trinder believes in making his organic dairy farm as environmentally friendly as possible, and it may be one of the few in the country to combine renewable wind power, robotic milkers and organic dairy farming. Tom began grazing his herd in 1992 and was certified as organic in 2006. “I did not make the decision to go organic based on price,” Tom says. “I made up my mind that I was going to make it so our products are safe.”

“We bought this farm in 1974, and I refused to use chemicals on it,” says Charles Deichmann, Sr. His son Chuck bought the farm from him in 1995 and they certified it as organic in 2000. Theirs was the first certified organic dairy in the country to use robotic milkers. Chuck says, “I realized they were very cow-friendly. The cows have complete freedom to do what they want to do, and to me, that tied into the whole organic world—it’s more natural for the cows to choose when they want to get milked. Charles Sr. says, “I never imagined that it would be a farm such as it is today.”

Fifth generation Maine farmer Lee Straw was one of the first in his area to switch to organic farming in 1998. “It was basically how I had been farming, so it made sense to get paid for practices I was already performing,” Lee says. He and his partner, Beth Schiller, have 42 cows, along with 250 head of sheep and 1000 laying hens. Why does he farm? “Sometimes I ask myself that question. If I didn’t do this, I’d have to get a real job,” Lee says. “I enjoy the quality of life, the lifestyle. Without getting too sappy, I love my animals and I love what I do.”