Ontario's Organic Meadow Co-operative is now part of a new company called Organic Meadow Limited Partnership.
Farmer members of the co-operative have a minority ownership in the new company. Ownership is also shared with Agrifoods Co-operative of Western Canada and Avio, a Calgary financing company.
Organic Meadow CEO Don Rees says the new partnership will mean new equipment and new products for the co-operative's dairy plant in Guelph, saving 45 jobs.
Agrifoods Co-operative also has an organic dairy in B-C.
Rees suggests the Organic Meadow brand could leverage that to become more of a national entity. He's also optimistic about the new Organic Producer Advisory Committee of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Rees points out that committee has a strong representation of Organic Meadow members.
He's hoping the committee will help DFO address the co-operative's concerns about the lack of an adequate supply of organic milk to meet a growing consumer demand.
