BOSTON (AP) – The Maine attorney general lent his support Wednesday to a small dairy being sued by chemical giant Monsanto for marketing its milk as hormone-free.

Attorney General Steven Rowe filed a friend-of-the-court motion backing Oakhurst Dairy’s efforts to move the case to federal court in Portland.

Portland-based Oakhurst labels and advertises its milk as coming from farmers who pledge not to use artificial growth hormones used to increase cows’ milk production. A Monsanto product called Posilac is the only such hormone approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The lawsuit by St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. accuses Oakhurst of misleading labeling and advertising that disparages its product.

In seeking a change of venue, Rowe’s brief asserts that 70 percent of Oakhurst’s sales occur in Maine, versus just 7 percent in Massachusetts, where the lawsuit was filed.

The filing also argues that Monsanto’s case threatens to undermine Maine’s Quality Trademark agricultural marketing program, which allows dairies that produce milk from cows that aren’t given hormones to use a state quality seal.

Monsanto had asked the state to abandon the seal, which was adopted in 1994, arguing that it misled consumers into thinking that milk from cows not treated with hormones is superior to milk using Posilac. The state rejected Monsanto’s request back in February.

The attorney general said in a statement Wednesday that the chemical firm’s lawsuit jeopardizes the right of Maine consumers to make informed shopping choices.

“Maine people want to know what goes into making their milk,” Rowe said. “We can see no good legal reason for forcing a dairy to keep secret the fact that its milk comes from cows free of artificial growth hormones.”

AP-ES-08-27-03 1905EDT