Carla Wardin farms with husband Kris on Evergreen Dairy, Inc., a 300-cow pasture-based dairy farm. She blogs at http://truthordairy.blogspot.com/ I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that impelled me to write a letter to the editor. As published, it reads:

Retired agriculture and economics professor Ed Jesse says that organic dairy cows produce less milk because they can't be given antibiotics ("Got Milk? Spinoff Shows Lure of Organic," Marketplace, Aug. 9).

Your readers, however, shouldn't take this to mean that antibiotics are found in traditional milk. On a traditional farm, sick cows on antibiotics are milked into a separate container, and the milk is dumped until the antibiotics are out of the cow's system.

If a trace of antibiotics is found in a tank delivered to a processing plant, the entire load is dumped—yours and whatever other farms' milk is in the tank. You don't get paid and you are fined. The tainted milk never reaches the processing plant's tank.

Consumers can be assured that all milk, traditional and organic, is antibiotic-free.

As the reporter also stated in the article, "Consumers are willing to pay much higher prices for products they perceive to be more healthy." Perception is king, but when consumers know the facts, they can make a more informed choice.

Enjoy your milk today - and every day! For me, opening the paper and seeing my letter made it one of the best breakfasts ever. PD

Click here to read the post on the blog site.