Ontario’s Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc. has filed for creditor protection in order to complete a “restructuring of its operations,” the company announced today in a press release.
Organic Meadow is Canada’s oldest co-operative of organic farmers, organized in 1989, and represents over 100 family farms across Ontario.
The company’s goal is to emerge from the restructuring in a stronger financial position. The co-op says the filing comes as an “unavoidable and necessary move due to the onerous business terms recently placed upon it by the province’s milk marketing board.”
Organic Meadow Co-operative members account for over 70 percent of the supply of organic milk in Ontario. In filing for protection, and restructuring our business, we are protecting the very rights of our farmers,” said Don Rees, CEO, Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc. “Our goal is to work with the milk marketing board and all of our creditors to put a restructuring plan in place that allows us to emerge from this process stronger, and which allows us to work with Dairy Farmers of Ontario in growing the organic milk market.”
“All of the co-operative’s dairy farmer members are disappointed that we could not find a resolution which would have enabled the co-operative to continue conducting business without the need for creditor protection. We view the filing as a short-term action that will enable the company to complete a restructuring process that began a few months ago,” said Ted Minten, Vice Chair, Organic Meadow Co-operative Inc.. “We’re hopeful that through this process we can work with DFO to reach a mutually beneficial solution.”
Organic Meadow will be operating as “business-as-usual during this restructuring process,” says the company.
Organic Meadow offers a complete line of organic dairy products including organic milk, cheese, butter, cream, eggs, yogurt and ice cream, which are sold in retail stores across the country.
For more information, visit www.organicmeadow.com.
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