METHUEN, Mass. – Agri-Mark dairy farmers have voted to merge with 150 dairy farm families in the Chateaugay Cooperative, who send their milk to McCadam Cheese in Chateaugay, N.Y.

In Maine, 140 of the state’s 400 dairy farmers are Agri-Mark producers.

Agri-Mark members ratified the merger in a vote Jan. 21 and Chateaugay Cooperative farmers approved the transaction the next day. The merger will be completed when Agri-Mark purchases assets of McCadam’s cheese business.

Dairy farmer Carl Peterson, who serves as Agri-Mark’s board chairman, is enthusiastic about the business transaction. During the past year, farmers received the lowest milk prices in 25 years, highlighting the need for value-added products and marketing for dairy farmers, Peterson said. McCadam Cheese, with 2002 sales of $50 million, manufactures many varieties of cheese that Agri-Mark didn’t previously produce, particularly Muenster and other European-type cheeses. These items represent additional shelf space in supermarkets for Agri-Mark farmers and a higher price for their milk.

Agri-Mark, with approximately $550 million in 2002 sales, markets more than 300 million gallons of farm-fresh milk each year for 1,450 dairy farm families in New England and New York.

The cooperative has been marketing milk for dairy farmers since 1917.