Organic Dairy Farms Form New Company
Via WCSH (10/12/2009):
After getting let go by a well-known milk company, a group of organic dairy farmers in Maine are trying to get back in the game.
Hood recently dropped ten organic dairy farms. So the farms joined forces with a local processor and a local distributor to form MOOMilk, which stands for Maine’s Own Organic Milk. It’s the first organic milk company in Maine. Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook will process the milk and Oakhurst will distribute it. The new company is a low-profit, limited liability corporation. General Manager Bill Eldridge says that allows the company to return up to ninety percent of its profits to the farmers. Eldridge says he believes this model will also work for other types of farms.
“About a year and a half ago I decided that Maine had a great opportunity to become the breadbasket of New England,” Eldridge told NEWS CENTER. “If we can change the infrastructure, MOOMilk being an obvious example of that, then we can become a dominant agricultural producer once again like we were one hundred or one hundred fifty years ago.”
Eldridge says prices on MOOMilk will be comparable to other organic milk companies, which he says run about $3.99 for a half-gallon. Hannaford plans to carry it in its Maine and New Hampshire stores. It’s expected to be in Associated Grocers of Maine and many natural food stores.