Maine's MOOmilk Bands Local Farmers Into Organic Brand

Life is all about choices and Maine dairy farmers have decided consumers need another brand option in the organic milk market.Ten dairy farmers formed Maine's Own Organic Milk Co., MOOMilk for short, last year after their contracts weren't renewed by large milk distributor H.P. Hood LLC because of a slip in demand and a glut of organic milk in the market. Gluts are not uncommon for organic products, especially when price pressures are high and multiple farms come out of the three-year organic transition period simultaneously.

Regional player MOOMilk, competing with larger Dean Foods, Organic Valley, and Aurora Dairy, is an L3C, a controversial low-profit, limited-liability corporation that's eligible to receive grants and endowments the same way a cooperative or nonprofit can. The Maine Department of Agriculture helped set up the company, and Stonyfield Farm provided some start-up funding.

Farmers own 50 percent of the company and 90 percent of the profits are returned to them. The goal is keep some of the estimated 2,000 certified organic US dairy farms in business by communicating to consumers that profits from MOOMilk go back to Maine farmers. “Keeping these farm families viable has also helped protect hundreds of acres of Maine farmland,” reads www.moomilkco.com.

Attaching a story to a product sold for twice as much as other milk is good marketing. Saving US farms and agriculture is a pull at consumer heartstrings. However, many consumers are confused about the benefits of organic milk and therefore are hesitant to open their wallets.

Last week the USDA released new regulations on farmers deeming that cows graze for a minimum of 120 days, as opposed to the previous rules that were vague and required only access to pasture, but not necessarily the use of it. Aurora Organic and Horizon (owned by Dean Foods) received negative attention for the lack of grass feed and animal confinement, even though they were technically following the organic standards.