PRESS ADVISORY

Maine's Own Organic Milk Company (MOOMilk) to begin production on Friday, Jan. 22.

Press event and farmer availability at Smiling Hill Dairy in Westbrook at noon.

For more information contact:
Bill Eldridge, MOOMilkCo general manager, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 242-5034
David Bright, MOOMilk secretary, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 234-4226.


Maine's Own Organic Milk Company (MOOMilkCo) will begin production of organic milk on the morning of Friday, Jan 22, at Smiling Hill Dairy, 781 County Road, Westbrook, ME 04092. The milk will be available in Maine stores on Saturday.

Production will start early Friday morning, with the final carton coming off the production line shortly after noon. A press conference and press availability will begin at noon.

The start of the production marks a new step in the recovery of the Maine dairy industry. MOOMilk with be produced and processed entirely in Maine, with trucking, processing and delivery all done by Maine family businesses. Ninety percent of the profits from the sale of the milk will go to the family farms producing the milk. MOOMilk is not a cooperative, but a low-profit company with a mission of helping Maine organic family dairy farms survive by earning a fair price for their milk.

These 10 family organic dairy farms were dropped by H.P Hood in 2009. They banded together, and with assistance from the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Maine Farm Bureau, and the Maine Department of Agriculture put together Maine's Own Organic Milk Company.

Starting Thursday, the milk from farms in Washington, Aroostook, Penobscot and Kennebec Counties will be picked up by Schoppee Milk transport of Holden and trucked to the Smiling Hill Dairy production facility in Westbrook for processing. Oakhurst Dairy and the the Crown of Maine Organic Coop will handle distribution to stores all over Maine and in some locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Media wishing to arrive in advance of the noon event should contact Bill Eldridge, MOOMilkCo general manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 242-5034, or MOOMilk secretary David Bright at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling 234-4226.

Smiling Hill Dairy is located at 781 County Road, Westbrook, ME 04092.
From the Maine Turnpike (I-95). Take the Portland Jetport Exit (Exit
46) and then take a left onto Route 22 West.