Cream of the Crop among Organic Dairy Farmers Recognized by Horizon Organic(R); Alan Howe of Tunbridge, Vt., Wins National Prize for Quality Organic Milk.

BOULDER, Colo. -- Horizon Organic(R), the nation's first certified organic dairy brand in the U.S., today announced its Exceptional Quality Award winners to honor its farmers as part of the company's Producer Milk Quality Program.

Horizon Organic's Exceptional Quality Awards recognize the top 10 percent of the company's farmer partners whose milk is the highest quality. The 2006 winners were selected based on strict criteria for milk quality. In order to be considered for the award, farmers must ship organic milk to the company for one full calendar year, and the average test results for each shipment of that milk must rank in the top 10 percent in their respective states.

This year's national winner for the best quality milk in Horizon Organic's total producer supply of more than 340 family farms is Alan Howe of HowAcres, Inc. in Tunbridge, Vt. Howe, who milks 50 cows on 385 acres, has been an organic dairy farmer shipping to Horizon Organic since 2004, continuing the farming tradition that his father started in 1935.

The 2006 Exceptional Quality Award winners are:

From Maine

--Wayne & Patricia Bragg

--Gilman Littlefield

From Vermont and New Hampshire 

--Alan Howe, HowAcres Inc., Tunbridge, Vt.

--Mark Morrison

--M & M Gardner

--David Childs

From Pennsylvania

--Amos J. Stoltzfus

--John K. & Malinda Lapp

--Amos L. Fisher

From New York 

--Gerald Snyder

--Robert Kathmann

--Charles Deichmann

--David Detweiler

--Daniel Miller

--Joe & Ginger Burrows 

--John & Clara Miller

--Philip Stauderman

--John & Erma Hoover

--John Byler

--Tim Matis

From Minnesota

--Culver Farms

From Wisconsin

--Tim Byom

From Oregon

--Jack Perrin

--Paul & Arthur Staehely

"Our mission is to convert more acres to organic and provide the highest quality organic dairy products to as many consumers as possible," said Jule Taylor, general manager of milk procurement for Horizon Organic. "The Producer Milk Quality Program reflects our mission, providing consumers great-tasting, high-quality products nationwide. In addition, our farmers benefit as they are paid a premium above the organic pay price. We are dedicated to the livelihood of our farmer partners, and will continue to be through a long-term sustainable price so organic farmers can keep farming."

Currently, 340 family farms ship 80 percent of Horizon Organic's supply. Horizon Organic continues to expand its resources and support family farms nationwide by increasing the number of organic dairy farmers in its network, signing on more than 57 new farmers in 2005 and 25 to date in 2006. In addition, 200 farmers are in the process of transitioning to organic through the Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) initiative. The HOPE program, founded in 2001, provides financial and educational support to dairy farmers over the three-year required transition to certified organic, per U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations.

Horizon Organic is currently recruiting new farmer partners who are interested in transitioning to organic farming. For more information, farmers in the Eastern U.S. should contact Cindy Masterman at [phone] or Peter Slaunwhite at [phone]. Farmers in the Midwest and Western U.S. should contact Mike Bandstra at [phone].

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 340 certified organic dairy farms and providing certified organic dairy products to natural foods retailers and supermarkets 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.