[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 60 (Monday, April 8, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING ALBERT STRAUS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 8, 2019

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Albert 
Straus, the founder and CEO of Straus Family Creamery. Under Albert 
Straus' leadership the Straus Family Creamery became the first creamery 
in the country to become one hundred percent certified organic. Twenty-
five years later, the business is not only thriving, but has created a 
model for sustainable family dairy farming that has been replicated to 
great success.
  The oldest of four children, Albert Straus grew up on his family's 
dairy farm in northern California. The son of William and Ellen Straus, 
his father founded the dairy in 1941, after fleeing to the United 
States as a refugee from Nazi Germany. Albert left his family's dairy 
to go to college, but returned in 1977, after earning a bachelor's 
degree in Dairy Science from California Polytechnic State University, 
San Luis Obispo. Albert took over management of the dairy alongside his 
father, but realized that changes would need to be made if family-run 
dairy farms were going to survive the growth of larger industrial 
competitors.
  Over the course of the nearly two decades that followed, Albert 
Straus implemented innovative solutions at his family dairy that 
improved both the stewardship of the land and the farm's economic 
vitality. These solutions included the cessation of herbicides and 
chemical fertilizers, the use of planting methods that reduced soil 
erosion, and the use of food waste for cow feed, among many others. 
Finally, in 1994, Straus opened the first certified organic dairy and 
creamery west of the Mississippi River and the first 100 percent 
certified organic creamery in the U.S.
  Today, the Straus Family Creamery has had great success, both 
economically, and in its mission to create a farming community that is 
committed to stewardship of the land. Albert Straus has been a model 
and mentor for many other family dairy farms. Now nearly ninety percent 
of all dairy farms in the region are certified organic, and as a 
result, family farms are continuing to thrive. Still a leader in 
innovation, the Straus Family Dairy Farm uses a methane digester to 
turn the 4,000 gallons of manure that it produces daily into compost 
and renewable energy. This energy not only powers the 500-acre farm, 
but also Albert Straus' harvester truck.
  Madam Speaker, Albert Straus' leadership and vision has proven that 
environmentally-sustainable farming can both turn a profit and support 
a larger community of family farms and distributors. And at a time when 
the public has grown increasingly more concerned by the means and 
consolidation of food production, his example is that much more 
significant. Therefore, please join me in recognizing Albert Straus and 
the success of the Straus Family Creamery, on the occasion of its 25th 
anniversary.

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