By Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director
While the news of the acquisition of Maple Hill Creamery by Horizon Family Brands, financed by Platinum Equity, may have been a surprise to many producers, the industry knew Maple Hill was on the market for some time. After its rapid growth in the last year and its position in the Grass-Fed market, it needed capital investment to take full advantage of its expanded market position in the face of rapidly growing consumer demand.
Maple Hill Creamery has come a long way from Tim Joseph’s start-up in 2009, surviving a setback in 2021-22, and now positioned for a profitable sale, although we don’t have any details about the acquisition yet. It is an ideal fit for Horizon Family Brands whose mission, as described in their press release, is to “leverage its expertise in operational improvement and strategic management to drive growth and profitability for the newly acquired brand. The firm is likely to focus on optimizing operations and expanding market reach to maximize returns.”
Maple Hill promptly notified its producers regarding the ownership and management transition. The company had already scheduled annual producer meetings for December and ensured that two formal letters were sent to producers via FedEx, without delay. Producers’ reports are that the meetings were polite and respectful, with many reassurances that there would be no immediate changes from the Horizon Family Brand executives that attended. Many producers had practical questions, for example:
But the overarching concern expressed more on Facebook and in private conversation, which Mitch Clark addressed in his letter to producers, is trust. The Horizon Organic brand has, under its many diverse owners, treated organic dairy producers badly, culminating in the largest cancelation of contracts organic dairy has ever seen in 2021-22, devastating the Northeast and particularly New England organic dairy producers. Mitch’s argument in his letter to producers that many of the current executives of the company were previous Horizon employees does nothing to put substance behind promises of ‘nothing will change.’ Mitch has spent the last few years telling producers that Maple Hill has completely new management after the company cancelled many contracts in 2021-22. Maple Hill has grown as promised and increased Pay Price to reflect rising costs, with the 2026 $4/cwt. increase reflecting that continued commitment and easing producers concerns over the change to new owners. Producers are now hearing the same platitudes and reassurance about how another new management will operate. Hopefully, Maple Hill will continue its transparency and commitment to local field reps and supporting consultants.
The fear is very obviously about how Horizon Family Brands, whose “focus on optimizing operations and expanding market reach to maximize returns,” will act in the future. When the new parent company addresses it supply side economics, how will they react when told the algorithms indicate that the most cost-efficient and profitable supply is from larger operations near to a processor? We all know that small scale dairy operations in the Northeast are more expensive to service than larger ones. Will its growth be based on milk supplied by Aurora Dairy, with its Grass Fed A2A2 brand (Grazeful Dairy) or similar large operations, with only a limited pool of milk from smaller operations to validate their commitment to family farms and their Environmental, Social, and Governance requirements of the capital portfolio? Will the success of the Grass Fed brand lead to the same problems that organic has had in the past: that the regulations need to be less strict to increase supply to manage this market better? Past reality indicates the economic pressure on the supply side will lead to a relaxation of the standards while not changing the image presented to consumers. Beyond the next few years, as supply is stabilised, what is the future with a parent company that specializes in Mergers, Acquisitions & Operations and whose home page states that they have a portfolio of approximately “60 companies operating in a diverse range of industry sectors, generating $100B+ in aggregate revenue and employs ~200,000 people around the world.”
The immediate problem that the Horizon Family Brand faces is to provide substantial financial support to its producers this harsh winter to find and pay for high price forage and trucking to keep cows fed, keep the lights turned on and maintain a high level of Animal Welfare. A $1/cwt as a prepayment for a 50 cow herd will mean a one-time payment of approximately $5,000. With hay at over $450 per ton, it does not pay for many tons of hay. The extra increase of $3 over the year may or may not cover increased costs and lower production into late Spring 2026. The 2023 survey of Northeast Grass Fed operations indicated that the ‘average’ farm needed a $46/cwt Pay Price. Overhead and operational expenses have not gone down since then.
Posted: to Industry News on Sat, Jan 10, 2026
Updated: Sat, Jan 10, 2026
