Horizon Organic announced the family farmer recipients of two annual awards: the HOPE Award, which honors farmers who advocate organic agriculture; and the Quality Award, which recognizes the Horizon farmer who produces the highest quality organic milk in the entire Horizon milk supply. The Hardy family of Farmington, Maine, received the 2011 Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) Award, while the Sheen family of Gouverneur, New York, was recognized with the 2011 National Quality Award, during Farm Aid’s annual benefit concert at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

OpenGate Capital, a global private equity firm, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Waukesha, Wisconsin-based dairy-processing plant and related assets from Dean Foods Company. OpenGate will acquire the Golden Guernsey(R) and La Vaca Bonita(R) brands as part of the transaction. The business manufactures, bottles and distributes its dairy products to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and major retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

World Ag Expo is searching for the newest and most innovative products for World Ag Expo 2012. For the seventh year, a panel of World Ag Expo Top-10 judges will select 10 new products to highlight at the Expo, scheduled for Feb. 14-16. Each entry is evaluated by a panel of production agriculturalists (working farmers and ranchers), agricultural professionals and university representatives. The Top-10 are selected and announced at World Ag Expo, and the winning entries are showcased at the New Products Center.

The 100 percent farmer-owned cooperative that makes Borden Cheese has launched its Friends of Elsie Tour, a hands-on exhibit that brings the farm to families through local dairy farmers, on-farm activities and a live country music experience. People may meet dairy farm families and take part in activities such as, a cow portable milking machine, a cow-to-person height comparison chart, samples of cow feed and an interactive farm game. Information is also available to help consumers understand different types of cheese and butter. Tour stops include community events and state fairs.

Cargill Animal Nutrition has announced it is forming an alliance with Fresno, California-based Integrated Grain and Milling, Inc., (IGM) to fully leverage the marketing teams of each organization. Under this alliance, the marketing teams will act as sales agents for each of the respective companies.

A farm in North Smithfield has been named Rhode Island’s outstanding dairy farm. The state Department of Environmental Management said that Wright’s Dairy Farm Inc. won the annual Rhode Island award. Ten family members run the fifth-generation farm, along with 50 full- and part-time employees.

Cathleen Williams, associate professor in the Louisiana State University AgCenter School of Animal Sciences, has been named winner of the Land O’Lakes/Purina LLC Teaching Award in Dairy Production. The award is presented annually by the American Dairy Science Association to recognize outstanding teaching of undergraduate students in dairy science.

In the May 21 issue of Progressive Dairyman, Editor Karen Lee came up with a poll question that sparked much interest: “Should the sale of unpasteurized (raw) milk be legalized in all 50 states?” “Raw milk pairs with the local and slow food movements that are of interest to today’s consumers,” Lee says. “As I researched it, I found that nearly a dozen states were considering or would potentially be considering legislation related to the sale of raw milk this year alone. Progressive Dairyman was curious to see how our readers weighed in on the topic.”

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) today announced that its Board of Directors intends to create two independent public companies: A high-growth global snacks business with estimated revenue of approximately $32 billion and a high-margin North American grocery business with estimated revenue of approximately $16 billion. The company expects to create these companies through a tax-free spin-off of the North American grocery business to Kraft Foods shareholders.