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Horizon Organic Founder Launches New Organic Dairy Company

Organic dairy is one of the fastest growing segments of the organic industry, but it could be growing even faster if it was less expensive. The higher price of organic products is still the biggest barrier to the sector gaining market share. That may change now, since Mark Retzloff, who co-founded Horizon Organic, the largest organic dairy company in the U.S., has launched a new organic dairy company. Aurora Organic Dairy, based in Platteville, Colorado, will be the first in the U.S. to produce and sell private-label organic milk.Most milk sold today is private label. Retzloff is joined by Marc Peperzak, formerly chair of Horizon’s board and CEO of Aurora Dairy Corporation, one of the nations largest conventional dairy farms. Charlesbank Capital Partners of Boston is investing $18.5 million in the new company to expand the farm, convert the 5,000-cow herd to certified organic milk production and build a processing plant. Headwaters MB, a Denver banking firm, brokered the deal and also invested.The dairy farm received organic certification in December, and Retzloff expects the processing plant to be operational by mid-summer. The company is converting about 30,000 acres to organic pasture and cropland to produce feed for the cattle.Natural Foods […]

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Solar Comes Standard in New Sacramento Subdivision

Solar is increasingly being incorporated in new California housing developments, but the price is usually out of reach for the average person. Premier Homes is building a 95-home subdivision in the Sacramento area where an average priced home will come with solar and energy efficient features as standard. Premier has offered solar as an option in previous developments, but the price tag was in the $500,000 range. Single-family homes in the Sacramento development will range in price from $244,900 to $332,990. The energy-efficient features add $10,000-15,000 to the cost of a home and include: * efficient heating and air conditioning, including Energy Star-rated appliances and windows* tight duct work and R-38 insulation; * on-demand tankless water heater * fluorescent lighting* a 2-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system Premier expects residents to spend 60% less on energy bills compared to conventionally built homes.The homes will conform to the US Department of Energy’s “zero-energy” design and to SMUD Solar Advantage and Advantage Homes. SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District), the local utility, is giving Premier $200 per home for advanced energy-efficiency features and about $7,000 per home toward the cost of each solar PV system. SMUD also offered $20,000 to help market the homes. Since […]

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