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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Luana Hancock
Communications Manager
Horizon Organic/WhiteWave Foods
(303) 635-4448
Mary Waggoner
Senior Account Executive
Ketchum Public Relations
(646) 935-4134
Land Stewardship Initiative Announced by Horizon Organic
Horizon Organic Dairy to invest $13 million in its original farms and in growing family farms through its HOPE program
BOULDER, Colo. (Dec. 6, 2005) -- People in the U.S. want more organic dairy products than current certified organic dairy farms can supply. Horizon Organic, the nation's leading marketer of organic milk, intends to address this supply shortage through modern investments and old-fashioned stewardship.
Horizon Organic, the first nationally distributed certified organic milk company, today announced its $13 million Land Stewardship Initiative. The multi-tiered program will fund grazing and agricultural land expansion with environmental integrity for its two original farms and its growing national network of family farmers. This substantial investment and commitment is essential so that Horizon Organic can continue to fulfill its vision of providing organic dairy products for all consumers by converting as many acres as possible to environmentally-beneficial practices.
Along with more than 1,400 acres to be added to Horizon's original farm in Idaho, the Land Stewardship Initiative will improve the quality of its existing pasture lands and assist in the transition of thousands of acres of farm land and hundreds of family farms to certified organic practices. Improved pasture lands and new family farmers will enable Horizon Organic to keep pace with the American consumer's thirst for organic dairy products, which is growing at more than 16 percent per year, according to the Natural Foods Merchandiser Market Overview 2004 report.
Horizon Organic will invest $10 million in its original dairy farm in Idaho, which in 1995 became the first certified organic large dairy farm in the country. This investment is the culmination of a four-year plan by Horizon Organic to significantly expand its organic pasture land. The plan also includes the construction of new barns and a state-of-the-art milking parlor.
Currently 75 percent of Horizon Organic's milk is supplied by more than 300 certified organic family dairy farms, and new family farms are essential to secure future organic milk supplies. The company is currently supporting more than 130 transitional dairy farmers through its Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) program, and is seeking to encourage many more family farmers to convert to organic farming. Through its HOPE program, the company provides much needed funding and hands-on training and assistance from the company's producer relations staff. Horizon Organic will invest a minimum of $500,000 to $1 million, annually, as part of a multi-year commitment, so that dairy farmers in transition to organic have the ability to purchase more expensive organic feeds and convert their farms to meet the organic standards.
"In 1991, when I co-founded this company, we dreamed of changing the world one organic acre at a time. This investment takes the organic industry an important step closer to making that dream a reality," said Paul Repetto, senior advisor and co-founder of Horizon Organic. "For me, more acreage in organic agriculture translates to more environmental benefit for all."
Horizon Organic is also pleased to announce that it is partnering with Holistic Management International, a nonprofit organization widely regarded as the preeminent experts in ranch/farm management, specializing in the management of pastures and rangelands to maximize biodiversity, water retention and carbon sequestration. Horizon Organic will be working with Holistic Management International to develop best practices for its organic farm in Idaho, including a holistic grazing plan and new techniques designed to regenerate and improve the health of the land and increase biodiversity. (Visit www.holisticmanagement.org for more information on this international research and educational organization.)
"Our expertise lies in restoring land in ways that benefit the social, economic and environmental health of communities. We are very excited to be partnering with Horizon Organic to develop a new standard of excellence for organic grazing dairies," said Allan Savory, founder of Holistic Management International.
No matter the size of the dairy farm, sixty acres or 6,000 acres, USDA regulations for organic are the same: no harmful pesticides, no antibiotics and no added growth hormones, with freedom for animals to roam and exhibit their natural behaviors. These uniform standards are the basic tenets of organic integrity for which the founders of Horizon Organic Dairy fought for more than a decade before "organic" became federal law. Horizon Organic, which began working to establish organic standards in 1991, continues to support strict organic regulations that promote grazing and feeding protocols so that the USDA organic seal will be trusted by consumers for the long term.
The Land Stewardship Initiative, a culmination of four years of research and work, enables Horizon Organic to grow with environmental integrity while meeting consumer demand for quality organic dairy products.
About HORIZON ORGANIC
Horizon Organic, founded in 1991, was the first certified organic dairy to distribute products nationally in the United States. The company remains true to its vision for a more organic planet, purchasing milk from more than 300 certified organic dairy farms and providing certified organic dairy products to supermarkets and natural foods retailers across the country. Horizon Organic products are produced without the use of harmful pesticides, antibiotics or added growth hormones and always will be. That's the organic promise from our farmers to consumers. For more information on the growing world of organic, visit www.horizonorganic.com
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Food produced without antibiotics, added growth hormones or pesticides means better health and a cleaner environment.
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