Farmers launch ME's first organic dairy co.
A group of organic dairy farmers in Maine affected by low milk prices and changes at large milk companies have banded together to launch a new brand.
The brand, called Maine's Own Organic Milk, or MOO Milk, will hit shelves at Hannaford and independent grocery stores in Maine and New Hampshire in November, according to Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Farmers from Aroostook, Washington, Kennebec and Penobscot counties will provide the milk, which will be processed at Smiling Hill Farms in Westbrook and distributed by Oakhurst Dairy and Crown of Maine. The launch comes as a response to a shrinking demand for organic milk, which can be twice the cost of conventional milk, and milk companies asking farmers to cut production. This year, H.P. Hood told 10 Maine organic dairy farms that their contracts would not be renewed, prompting a call to boycott the company's products and those of its subsidiary Stonyfield Organic Milk.
The farmers involved said they hope consumers will support the local product. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine Farm Bureau and the Maine Department of Agriculture played a role in launching MOO Milk, according to MPBN.
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