MORE NEWS & TRENDS

Monterey Pasta Buys Stake In Cibo Naturals

Monterey Pasta Company (Saunas, Calif.) has acquired 80% of Cibo Naturals LLC, a manufacturer of refrigerated sauces and spreads located in Seattle. The transaction included $6 million for the 80% stake and a $1 million loan from Monterey to Cibo. Additionally,

Eric Eddings will continue in his current position as Cibo's chief operating officer and general manager.

Cibo's products include fresh pesto sauces, flavored cheeses, bruschetta toppings and tapenade spreads. They are sold nationally through club stores, supermarket delis and specialty food stores.

"Cibo Naturals represents a valuable addition to Monterey Pasta and is expected be accretive to earnings", said Jim Williams, Monterey Pasta's president and CEO. "It fits well with our growth strategy in premium refrigerated foods. Cibo Naturals has unique, high quality products and has developed a strong position in club, supermarket deli and specialty store channels. We see great growth potential in the CIBO Naturals brand, both in expanded distribution and in new products."

Dairy Fanners Fret Over Australia Free Trade Negotiations

Congressmen from big dairy-producing states like New York and California were cautioning Bush Administration officials in February over its free trade agreement negotiations with Australia.

Dairy products such as butter and cheese are much cheaper in Australia, worrying many dairy farmers.

More than 60 Senators and House members signed a letter calling on President Bush to protect domestic dairy producers. The National Milk Producers Federation estimated that increased dairy competition from Australia could put as many as 15% of domestic producers out of business, cost U.S. dairy farmers $2.5 billion in lost revenue, and result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs.

That situation was described as "unacceptable" by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, who added his own letter to the growing pile on the President's desk.

"I am aware from input from key agriculture leaders, farmers and employees of Pennsylvania dairy-related industries that this agreement has the serious potential to significantly impact the dairy industry," said Governor Rendell. "As the largest segment of Pennsylvania agriculture, representing nearly 40 percent of the agriculture economy, dairy is central to our economy. Dairy is likely to suffer greatly unless your administration exercises a considerable degree of caution in drafting trading terms that will apply under the upcoming Free Trade Agreement."

Land O'Lakes Sales Up 8% For 2003

Land O'Lakes reported year-end sales of $6.3 billion, an 8% increase over 2002 sales of $5.8 billion. The Arden Hills, Minn.-based company said the sales increase was due in part to the consolidation of MoArk (Land O'Lakes' egg industry joint venture) into the company balance sheet. Without that accounting change, sales were up 3%.

The company's Dairy Foods division reported sales of $884 million for the quarter and $3.0 billion for the year, as compared to $748 million and $2.9 billion in 2002. Particular areas of strength in the value-added business were butter and superspreads, foodservice, and deli cheese.

Land O'Lakes says that sales of two new branded dairy products, Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil, Soft Baking Butter with Canola Oil, launched in the fourth quarter, continue to run ahead of forecasts.

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Elects New Board

Bill Lovette, group vice president, Foodservice, at Tyson Foods, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association for 2004. Norman Robinson, senior director of live production for Gold Kist, has been elected vice chairman of the board, while Dr. Ron Prestage, president of Prestage Farms S.C. and manager of Prestage Farms Miss., has been elected treasurer. Henry Welch, production manager with Peco Farms, has been elected secretary. Jacques Kiempf, president of the family-owned Dixie Egg Company, will serve as past chairman of the board.