Tight supplies of raw organic milk have not stopped Stonyfield Farm and parent company Danone from planning an organic yogurt line that will be marketed in Europe. French newspaper reports say the line would be manufactured stateside by Stonyfield, but the company says that's not so. Improvement and expansion projects at Stonyfield's New Hampshire facility are intended to add capacity for U.S. markets, a Stonyfield spokesperson said.

"Based on Groupe Danone's success in the U.S. and given the growing potential it sees in Europe for organic (and natural) food, Groupe Danone definitely thinks that it could enter the European organics market in the coming months," Stonyfield said in a statement prepared for Dairy Foods. "Danone will leverage the knowledge and success of Stonyfield, with Gary Hirshberg as the project leader, working with local teams."

The statement also said the goal is to make organic product less of a niche by leveraging the influence of Danone, one of the world's largest food companies.

Stonyfield and Danone are working in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere to assist dairy farmers in converting to organic farming. Last year Stonyfield had to temporarily move some of its production back to conventional milk, and the company is working on a plan to import organic milk from New Zealand.