PRESS ADVISORY

Maine's Own Organic Milk Company (MOOMilk) official launch on Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 at noon. (This event was rescheduled from the original date of 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 hold its official product launch at noon on Friday, Jan 29, at Smiling Hill Dairy, 781 County Road, Westbrook, Maine.

In 10 months MOOMilk has gone from concept to reality. Production started Sunday, Jan. 24, with product becoming available on Tuesday, Jan. 26, in some Maine stores. The production and distribution system is now fine tuned and will be available for media tours on Friday. The State’s Congressional delegation, Gov. and Mrs. Baldacci and the 23 gubernatorial candidates have been invited. As of this writing Reps. Michaud and Pingree have confirmed they will attend.

The start of the production marks a new step in the recovery of the Maine dairy industry. MOOMilk is 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 L3C corporation with a mission of helping Maine organic family dairy farms survive by earning a fair price for their milk.

The 10 charter family organic dairy farms were dropped by an out-of-state processor 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.

Milk from farms in Washington, Aroostook, Penobscot and Kennebec Counties is now being picked up every other day by Schoppee Milk Transport of Holden and trucked to the Smiling Hill Dairy production facility in Westbrook for processing. Oakhurst Dairy and the Crown of Maine Organic Coop handle distribution to stores all over Maine. The milk will be available in some locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts shortly.

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). Turn left after the toll booth onto Hutchins Road towards Maine 22 west. Turn left onto Maine 22 West at the traffic light. Follow Maine 22 West for 2.1 miles. Smiling Hill Farm will be on your right. Turn into the parking lot of the red barn right next to the highway.