NC Farmer Neil Moye Receives NCIF loan to Start an Organic Dairy

In August, the Natural Capital Investment Fund made a $250,000 loan to help Neil Moye expand his Greene County farming operations by launching Simply Natural Dairy Farm, which will eventually include 100 - 150 Jersey cows.

Moye, a successful tobacco farmer, is using NCIF funding as well as money earned from the tobacco settlement, to purchase cows and milking machinery to begin the operation. A portion of the loan was funded by capital provided by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, which granted $500,000 to NCIF to assist tobacco farmers in pursuing sustainable diversification of their operations.

Moye says that his goal is “to provide wholesome organic milk to the health conscious consumer. By starting and investing in an organic dairy, I feel this benefits our land, environment and well-being for a brighter future.”

According to Rick Larson, NCIF’s NC Program Director, “Starting an organic dairy is a logical next step for Neil Moye, who has been successfully diversifying his tobacco operation for a number of years."

Moye, who expects to begin actual production in 2011, will sell his milk to Organic Valley – a leading US organic milk provider Organic Valley is a co-op with 100 dairy farmer members from around the country. Most of the co-op’s dairy farmers come from the Midwest –where it is too cold for cows to graze in the winter. This gives Moye a unique advantage. According to Gerry Cohn, Organic Valley representative for the Southeast, “Neil has a tremendous opportunity. North Carolina is a great place to do dairy because cows can graze year-round.”

Another unique aspect of Moye’s operation is that he does not have any background in conventional dairy farming. Most of the farmers who make the move to organic dairy have some prior dairy farming experience. However, Cohn isn’t worried about Moye: “Neil has great prospects, a great track record, and he’s a very accomplished farmer. And he’s a great learner – he always asks good questions and listens. He has good resources, a great deal of land, and good relationships to fall back on.”