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NOURISHING FARMS, FOOD, PEOPLE & EARTH
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Our pioneering founder is honored for leading the way in organic and carbon-neutral dairy farming.
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ALBERT STRAUS: ORGANIC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
We are thrilled to share the news that Albert Straus, Founder and Executive Chair of Straus Family Creamery, has been honored with the Organic Trade Association (OTA)’s prestigious Organic Lifetime Achievement Award! The leading voice for the organic industry in the United States, the OTA presents this award to pioneers who dedicate their lives to growing and protecting the organic movement. Albert was recognized alongside other organic changemakers at OTA’s Organic Week in Washington, D.C.
“I am truly honored to receive this award,” said Albert. “My lifelong mission is to create a replicable organic dairy farming model that sustains family farms, fosters the next generation of farmers, and revitalizes rural communities — all made possible by producing high-quality, delicious organic products that nourish people and positively impact our planet.”
In 1994, Albert transitioned his family’s farm into the first certified organic dairy farm west of the Mississippi and launched Straus Family Creamery, the first 100% certified organic creamery in the country. His vision? To prove that organic dairy products could be both delicious and a force for good.
Fast forward three decades, and Albert is still leading the herd. From installing one of California’s first methane digesters (turning cow “emissions” into renewable energy) to developing the first carbon farm plan on a U.S. dairy, he has shown that climate-friendly farming isn’t just possible—it’s the future. His leadership has earned worldwide recognition, including representing U.S. organic dairy at the 2024 International Dairy Federation’s World Dairy Summit in Paris, France, and being named one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business.”
Today, Straus Dairy Farm is building a replicable, carbon-neutral organic dairy farming model, and all 13 supplying farms to Straus Family Creamery aim to achieve net-neutral emissions by 2030.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a spoonful of our organic yogurt or poured our cream into your morning coffee, you’ve taken part in Albert’s lifelong mission: crafting award-winning dairy products while shaping the future of organic, climate-smart farming.
To read our press release about Albert’s award, click here.
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Albert Straus, Jeanne Straus, Johanna Nosecchi, Jolynn McClelland, and Kathy Tresch on stage at Gather for the Planet; Credit: Paige Green Photography
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STRAUS SUPPLYING DAIRY FARMS: CLIMATE ACTION CHAMPION AWARD
On a starry early October night in Pt. Reyes Station, several hundred people came together for the Agricultural Institute of Marin’s annual fundraiser, Gather for the Planet. At the event, the fourth annual Climate Action Champion Award was presented to the eleven dairy farms that supply Straus Family Creamery with milk.
Kathy Tresch of Tresch Family Farms accepted the award on behalf of all the farming families, giving a moving speech in which she quoted poet and environmental activist Gary Snyder. The other dairy farms honored were Bordessa Family Dairies; Correia Family Dairy; Drake’s View Dairy; Hughes Family Dairy; JJ’s Family Dairy; Moretti Family Dairy; Nosecchi Family Dairy; Robert McClelland Dairy; Silacci Dairy; and Straus Dairy Farm.
This award honors those developing innovative, replicable solutions to address the climate crisis through agriculture, food production, or craftsmanship.
With Straus Family Creamery’s support, these farms are working toward carbon neutrality by 2030, proving that dairy farming can be a part of the climate solution. Their efforts include:
- Completing carbon farm plans
- Using a methane biodigester
- Applying compost to pasture
- Testing Windfall Bio’s methane-to-fertilizer technology
- Seeding pastures with perennial grasses
- Experimenting with seaweed feed to cut methane
- Planting hundreds of trees annually
- Restoring riparian corridors, and more.
They also use the Cool Farm Tool to measure on-farm greenhouse gas emissions and track reductions over time.
We are extremely proud of this group of farmers and congratulate them on being recognized as Climate Action Champions!
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Climate Action Champion Awardees Johanna Nosecchi and Jolynn McClelland with Straus Family Creamery’s Joseph Button, VP of Sustainability and Strategic Impact, and Mike Scheu, President; Credit: Paige Green Photography
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NOT SO PLAIN VANILLA: SF CHRONICLE'S TOP PICK
In a recent feature, The San Francisco Chronicle’s food and wine editorial team declared Straus Family Creamery’s Super Premium Vanilla Bean Ice Cream the top pick in a blind tasting of 13 vanilla brands.
Journalist Mario Cortez wrote that our “vanilla bean flavor came out on top of the Chronicle’s vanilla ice cream taste test. Simply put, [wine editor Esther] Mobley wrote, there’s a ‘lotta vanilla’ in the blend. I found it to be well balanced and nutty.”
Read the full article here.
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