A32-Lancastar Firming, Saturday, June 27, 1992
Dairy
CJ. Houghtaling
Tioga Co. Correspondent
Woodhull (Steuben Co., N.Y.)
It was just the first step in a
grand scheme to promote the
Dairy Industry through auto rac
ing, but it proved it could be done
with success.
Saturday night, June 6, Wood
hull Raceway, Woodhull, N.Y.,
was the site of the National Dairy
Month Kickoff-40 Lap Modified
Special.
The stock car race was organ
ized by Real Team Marketing, and
the brainchild of Bill Appel, a for
mer dairy farmer and race car
driver residing in Middlebury
Center.
‘To our knowledge, the race
was the first ever to promote dairy
products,” said Appel.
As part of the promotion. Can
dice Kennedy of Middlebury Cen
ter in her last official appearance
as 1991 Tioga County Dairy Prin
cess, gave away 100 containers of
chocolate milk provided by Pay
ne’s Dairy of Knoxville.
Another novelty that was a defi
nite crowd pleaser was an ice
cream concession stand. And oh,
it tasted so good as the sultry
evening air hung over the track.
Ask anyone who got to the stand
before it sold out.
Sixty gallons of the stuff were
provided by Sunset of Williams
port, with profits from the sales
benefiting the Pickadilly 4-H Club
of Mansfield. An estimated 500
cones were sold, a feat never
before experienced or even ima
gined at die track.
In addition to a purse of $1,500,
Pseudorabi
(Continued from Pago A 1)
ness that can’t survive long with a
lot of permanent production costs.
The key to surviving with a flex
ible and unknown profit margin is
that there has to be enough margin
on a normal year to offset the bad
years: and bad years can’t get too
bad.
Too much mandated overhead
pushes out the small producer. In
the end, it’s the large producer who
benefits from reduced
competition.
Treadwell used to run a farrow
to-fmish operation and sell direct
for slaughter. He switched to feed
er pigs when his children were
going to college, because it
decreased the amount of overall
investment in each lot
Also, there’s a shorter turnar
ound time between investment and
return on feeders, which helps with
maintaining an available cash
flow. With feeders, they are ready
for sale in three months.
The farrow to finish operation
required more production time,
investment and carried a higher
associated risk, he said.
After selling feeders at the Fri
day graded feeder pig sale at West
minster for some time, Treadwell
switched to Tuesdays because of
testing requirements.
He said that, at the urging of hog
breeders, the sale became an
“elite” sale restricted to those ani
mals with veterinarian certifica
tion and blood tests.
Not desiring to take on the then
unnecessary expense of drawing
blood and testing his feeders in
order to continue marketing at
such an elite market, Treadwell
said he instead switched to market
ing hogs on Tuesdays.
Now he and others will have no
choice but to increase their over
head and comply with the new
regulations.
Industry Promoted At Stock Car Race Track
the winner of the modified stock
car race, Don Kio of Ulysses,
received a trophy with the Real
Seal on it, presented by Dan Baker
of Covington, director of the
American Dairy Association.
Kennedy also presented Kio with
a “winner’s choice” milk drink
(naturally) in lieu of the traditional
champagne.
Local businessmen played a
major role in sponsoring the race.
“Their contributions have been
greatly appreciated,” said Appel.
In return, the sponsors were ac
knowledged in an advertising dis
play on the track’s center. Appel
added, “It’s our way of showing
the spectators we want them to
support the businesses who sup
port us (the farmers).”
Among the sponsors that parti
cipated are Houghtaling’s Garage
and Middlebury Co-op, both of
Middlebury Center; Helena
Chemical Company (formerly
Formost Ag.), Wcllsboro; Payne’s
Dairy, Knoxville; Sunset Ice
Cream, Williamsport; Pickadilly
4-H Club, Mansfield; Pelton
Trucking, Monroeton; Pine City
Veterinary Clinic, Pine City,
N.Y.; Lawson’s Garage, Wood
hull, N.Y.; Pick-A-Part Automo
tive, Horseheads, N.Y.; Heavy
Equipment Supply and Addison
Farm Supply, both of Addison,
N.Y.
Why did Real Team Marketing
go through the trouble of organiz
ing and getting local businesses to
sponsor such an event? To prove a
point. That dairy products can be
marketed effectively in an area the
Dairy Industry has not yet used:
es Program
The state of Maryland Depart
ment of Agriculture (MdDA) had
approved the regulations and the
regulations were published in the
state’s official publication making
them legal.
MdDA failed to notify exten
sion service agents, veterinarians,
auction operators and producers
about the need to comply with fed
eral regulations.
However, without directly
admitting that the move was done
without adequate notice and nor
mal industry consultation, the
department on Thursday issued a
statement that the testing will not
start July 6.
Instead the regulations go into
effect Oct. 1, this year.
Treadwell said he isn’t sure
exactly what he is going to do in
the face of the new regulations.
He said that the options are lim
ited. The options are either to sell
the feeder pigs illegally and pri
vately, or switch to producing and
selling slaughter pigs directly.
As of Friday morning, there was
no information available as to the
estimated cost of compliance, as
that was not a consideration. Also,
it couldn’t be confirmed as to the
exact reason that the state agricul
ture department put the regulations
through without notifiying any
member of the industry to which
the regulations would affect.
The basic program, however, is
to set up conditions so that a breed
er can establish either a
psuedorabies-free herd, or a
pseudorabies-monitored herd.
Specifics on the program are
available now through the state
department of agriculture and
should soon become available
through the veterinarians (though
livestock-qualified vets are in
short supply), extension people
and possibly through the Maryland
Pork Producers Council.
Toasting the crowd for their support, Klo drinks his milk.
motor sports.
According to the National Hot
Rod Association, motor sports is
the #1 spectator sport in the
nation.
Real Team Marketing, a con
ceptual, multi-level marketing
program marrying the racing and
dairy worlds, was formed because
Appel has a dream of giving the
dairy industry a' much-needed
boost in promoting its products.
His goals are for the industry to
experience an increase in the con
sumption of all dairy products and
to achieve better distribution of
those products to the public.
“Better promotion is the key to
getting the public to use our pro
ducts,” said Appel.
As a farmer, Appel understands
how the farm crisis and low milk
prices have hurt the individual far
mer. As a former race car driver,
he knows first-hand why major
industries use motor sports to
market their products. It increases
sales.
“Soft drinks, alcoholic bever
ages, even large food chains mer
chandise through auto racing,”
said Appel. “Why shouldn’t the
dairy industry?”
It took a year of preparation,
and a friend’s introduction to three
people whose area of expertise
lies in marketing, but Appel’s
dream is finally becoming a reali
ty. He’s joined forces with Oscar
Michaluk of West Nyack, N.Y.,
and Deborah Meibov and Richard
Feldman, both of South Nyack,
N.Y. to create Real Team
Marketing.
Michaluk, formerly with Car
quest Corporation and BWP Dis
tributors as a national marketing
director, brings nearly 20 years of
automotive marketing experience
to Real Team Marketing.
Meibov has 15 years of creative
and art direction experience. She
provides the foundation of the vis-
Wolff Urges Farmers To Join
Veggie, Fruit Program
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
Farmers who produce fresh
fruits and vegetables can expand
their markets by joining the Far
mers’ Market Nutrition Program
(FMNP), State Secretary of Agri
culture Boyd E. Wolff said.
The program provides vouchers
to Women, Infants and Children
(WIC) Program participants for
the purchase of Pennsylvania
grown, fresh fruits and vegetables
from authorized farmers’ markets
or roadside stands. This year, the
program will operate in 48 coun
ties and serve mote than 28,000
WIC participants.
A warm Juna evanlng may hava been an incantiva for get
ting a cool treat, but lea cream la always worth tha wait.
Here, long lines of customers prove dairy products are as
popular as soft drinks and hot dogs when the public Is given
a choice.
ual sense required to make this
program a success.
Feldman, considered an
“expediter” in his field, has the
experience and ability to bind the
members of the team and provide
focus on those elements of the
program requiring action on a
day-to-day basis, putting the right
people in the right jobs at the right
time to get the work done.
Real Team Marketing’s con
cept is to create The Real Team, a
skillfully and professionally
blended combination of three
separate championship National
Hot Rod Association (NHRA)
racing teams, representing three
major racing divisions: Top Fuel
Classic, Funny Car, and Pro
“The Farmers’ Market Nutri
tion Program is a win-win situa
tion for Pennsylvania farmers and
WIC program participants,” Wolff
said. “The program provides
fresh, wholesome food to those at
nutritional risk, and it also helps
our farmers by expanding their
markets to customers who might
not ordinarily purchase produce
from farmers’ markets.”
Farmers who sell their produce
at farmers’ markets or roadside
stands may be authorized by the
Department of Agriculture’s
FMNP program office to accept
the checks as payment for their
Stock.
Real Team Marketing has plans
for the racing teams to participate
in 19 national race events as a way
to promote milk, ice cream,
cheese and other dairy products.
Support from industry leaders has
been favorable and plans are being
made to take the concept to higher
levels.
The Woodhull race will be used
as a positive example of what
could happen on a nation-wide
basis.
In any event, fans at Woodhull
are convinced that diary products
such as ice cream should be made
available at every race. And to
Real Team Marketing, that’s what
promotion is all about.
produce. The checks may be
cashed at any local bank.
Information on the program is
available from Lesa Tressler at
Pennsylvania Department of Agri
culture, Farmers’ Market Nutri
tion Program, 2301 North Came
ron Street, Harrisburg, PA
17110-9408, (717)787-5086.