Jerome Cheese Company, based in Jerome, Idaho, recently announced it would allow its producers to once again use BST in their herds.
In March, the Idaho Dairymen’s Association circulated letters from its producer members requesting state dairy processors lift the ban on BST use.
“We believe the economics, the consideration of sustainability in agriculture and the growing need to a feed a world of expanding future populations, makes it necessary that we allow our milk producer suppliers to decide for their individual purposes whether or not they use BST,” says Jon Davis, chief offerations officer with Jerome Cheese.
The company quietly made the announcement in a letter to its producer suppliers May 5. When contacted by Dairy Today this week, Davis was still unsure how many of Jerome Cheese’s producers will resume BST use. The company does not pay a premium for non-BST supplemented milk.
Very few of Jerome’s dairy customers demand products be made with milk not supplemented with BST. “When the conversation comes up, they want to talk about our carbon footprint and whether we are BST-free,” says Davis. “Those are contradictory issues—you can’t have both. So the conversations usually ends there.”
Jerome Cheese Will Allow Resumed Use of BST
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