Butter? A non-organic substance?

At my cousin's birthday party this past Sunday I overheard one of his sons say something about "going organic" in his maple sugaring operation. Instantly my mind went over the list of what goes into maple syrup: one item--sap. Startled, I moved in to listen.

Apparently, because he, as have generations before him, uses butter to quell the foam in the pan, his operation is not organic. I still can't digest this one. Admittedly, I've done no research other than recording the synapses that went off in my brain, but, as far as I know, cows eat grass and hay and produce milk. The milk is used to make butter. And, Tom, my cousin, throws a dab of it into the pan every so often during boiling to calm the foam. And, what's boiling is sap from the trees. There just ain't nothin' else in that pan.

And, yet, it's the syrup that comes out of that pan is not organic! I'm still chewing on this one. Inquiring minds want to know!