Organic dairy co-op offers membership to 80 Northeast farms

(AP) - An international organic milk cooperative is offering membership to 80 small organic farms in the Northeast that were poised to lose the market for their milk.

The Wisconsin-based Organic Valley cooperative announced Tuesday that 10 small Northeast farms have already been accepted membership in the cooperative.

Among the 90 farms are dozens in Vermont.

Last summer, Danone, the parent company of Horizon Organic, announced it would stop buying milk from 28 farms in Vermont and a total of 61 in Maine, New Hampshire and New York.

Separately, a New York-based organic dairy announced it was terminating contracts with 46 New York organic farms.

The news left farmers in the region scrambling to find markets for their milk.