82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 19, 1993
./<
*/ /
Lancaster County Dairy Promotion Committee Includes, seated from left:
Ruth Akers, Reneee Breneman, Carole Binkley, and Ruth E. Bushong. Stand-
Unheralded Workers Behind Dairy Promotion
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
“Dairy promotion persons are
the unheralded workers behind the
scenes working hard at dairy
promotion. I don’t think people
realize the hours the committee
spends on a thankless job,” said
Glenn Shirk, Lancaster Extension
dairy agent and advisor to the
county dairy promotion
committee.
Thankless job?
Depends on how you look at it.
If the committee expects finan
cial payment or verbal affirmation
for hours of manning the milk
wagon at sales and festivals, hand
ing out samples of dairy products
and recipes, setting up school
promotions, and planning novel
ways to introduce consumers to the
benefits of using dairy products,
then, yes, dairy promotion is a
thankless job.
But, ask any of the 11 members
of the Lancaster Dairy Promotion
Committee, and they will tell you,
the work has its own rewards.
The comradeship that develops
between those with the common
bond of promoting their livelihood
cannot be underestimated.
“I believe that dairy promotion
should be the job of every person
who produces milk and not just a
few. If every one gives a little time
for promotion than no individual is
overwhelmed by the job, ” said Jan
Harting, who is director over all
the county committees in
Pennsylvania.
The Lancaster County commit
tee confirms Harting’s statement.
Donna Knider, chairperson and
member for 10 years, said that
although she is primarily responsi
ble for legislating the work of the
dairy princess, it is not over
whelming because other members
of the committee pitch in and help.
Kreider and her husband,
Robert, farm more than 200 acres
in Quarryville, south of Buck.
They milk 120 milk cows and have
two adult children.
People most often acquaint
dairy promotion with the dairy
princess, whose role appears a bit
glamorous with crown and dressy
finery. But, if it weren’t for the
dairy promotion committees in
each county, the dairy princess’s
role would soon fizzle out.
These are the people who edu
cate and train young women to
promote dairy products. They set
up appointments for the her to talk
with students, they solicit ag
businesses for products, oversee
bookkeeping, and schedule store
promotions.
They often provide transportion
to promotional events, they search
for new candidates for princesses,
and for alternates and Dairy Dar
lings (young girls who assist the
princess in dairy promotion).
Committee members plan infor
mal get-togethers for potential
candidates to meet and outline the
reponsibilities and duties of the
dairy princess.
The booking chairperson
attends the dairy princess three
day dairy princess training seminar
held annually.
Committee persons sychronize
schedules to utilize dairy princess,
alternates and Little Darlings in
milk promotion.
They order promotional mater
ials, cow costumes, crowns, ban
ners, videos and recipe cookbooks,
posters, and handouts. All of
which must be ordered three
months in advance of planned
promotions.
Promotion requires funding. It
is the committee’s responsibility to
find it.
Most of the money is raised
through setting up a milk wagon at
sales and festivals. Matching funds
are provided by the Pennsylvania
Dairy Promotion Program through
the 15 cents per hundredweight of
milk produced and sold. Ten cents
of IS cents are eligible to come
back to the county for promotion
otherwise all the money remains at
the national level.
Jim Barnett, treasurer of the
committee, said that about $5,000
to $6,000 is spent on county prom
otion every year.
Although the milk wagon is a
dependable fundraiser. It requires
much behind-the-scenes hard
work by committee members and
insurance for it costs $5OO
annually.
Products sold include milk
shakes, ice cream, nacho and
cheese, string cheese, and ice
cream sandwiches.
Supplies must be ordered in
advance. It is a challenge to plan
how much ice cream is needed.
Recently it rained both days at a
scheduled event, which resulted in
slim attendance and lots of leftov
ers to store for the next event.
Transportation for the milk
wagon is the responsibility of Ruth
Bushong and her husband Glenn.
The milk wagon is set up and
leveled similar to setting up a
camping trailer. If electric hook up
in not available at the promotion
site, generators must be used.
Ing from left: Glenn Shirk, Jill Harnlsh, Esther Groff,
Krelder, Jim Barnett, and Arlene Harnlsh.
The Bushongs farm 200 acres
and milk 90 to 100 cows on their
Columbia farm. Ruth became a
committee member when her
daughter was county dairy prin
cess in 1987.
“I felt this was something that I
could do. I had been really
involved in helping my daughter as
dairy princess and enjoyed the
meetings and helping people so I
stayed on the committee,” she said.
deviously the milk wagon was
available for organizations to rent,
but the committee ran into prob
lems with hauling and clean up so
now it is limited to the committee’s
use.
Popularity has increased, with
more bookings for the milk wagon
this summer than ever before.
In the 10 years that Donna
Kreider has been on the commit
tee, she said that it has had about
the same number of people
involved. Some things have
changed. In those beginning years,
the committee only planned the
pageant and then all the responsi
bilites for the dairy princess fell on
the chairperson. Now monthly
meetings are held and many prom
otions are organized throughout
the year.
Incentive awards are given to
county dairy princesses for the
number of events she attends to
promote dairy products. These
vary, depending on the dairy prin
cess’s schedule. She has the option
of deciding how many or how few
promotions she will do, but her
goals are established at the begin
ning of her reign. Although the
dairy princess sets up some of the
promotions, the committee must
constantly plan how to best meet
the goals the dairy princess has
established.
June is an especially busy time
for the committee. Because it is
Dairy Month, the cpmmittee pro
vides a basket of dairy-related
items in recognition of the June
dairy baby, the first baby bom on
June 1 in the county. Included in
the basket are a stuffed cow, a little
bib decorated with cows, mugs,
chocolate mix, milk, chocolate
milk, cottage cheese, cream, sour
cream, velveeta cheese, string
cheese, and a variety of other
cheeses, and yogurt. Also,
included are coupons for ice
cream.
“I love milk” T-shirts are
delived to five county hospitals for
babies bom during the month of
June.
Carole Binkley, who is a five
year member of the committee,
orders the T-shirts and contacts the
hospital to set up these activities.
She also buys the items for the
June Dairy Baby.
She said that she finds the hospi
tals nice to woik with and the reci
pients grateful.
Carole did not grow up on a
dairy farm. She and her husband
started dairying about five years
after marriage. “It’s a small family
operation,” she said. They milk
35-40 Holsteins and rent about 250
acres on which they grow com,
soybeans, and alfalfa. She and
her husband, Glenn, have three
children, 19, 16, and 9-years old.
Carole is secretary for the com
mittee and expects to continue this
duty as long as no one else
volunteers.
Carole finds her work with the
committee rewarding. She
believes their work helps the publ
ic become aware of the dairy
industry. She often works four- to
five-hour shifts at the milk wagon
and finds it most enjoyable to serve
ice cream and watch the public as
they eat it.
New members often become
part of the committee when a new
dairy princess is crowned. She and
her mother are urged to attend the
meetings to help plan promotions
for the princess.
Lancaster County Dairy Prin
cess Jill Hamish and her mother
Arlene became involved this year.
Former dairy princess Robyn
Groff and her mother Esther joined
last year and plan a long associa
tion with the committee.
During her reign, Robyn had no
alternates to help her with promo
tional activities yet she attained the
top level of promotions for the
county during her reign. Instead of
bum-out from overwork, Robyn
became an enthusiastic promoter.
Her parents, Esther and Robert
farm a small SO-acre tenant farm in
Lancaster. The Groffs also have
three sons.
“I’m happy to pass the word
along about the benefits of dairy
products,” Esther said. “I like store
promotions, especially the Shop
per Stopper. That is when the com
mittee designates a certain aisle at
a grocery store where the dairy
princess introduces herself to cus
tomers and pays for the dairy pro
ducts the customer has placed in
the cart.
“When I tell them to put their
dairy products on the check out
counter, they put margarine up,”
Esther said.
She is thrilled to educate the
shopper that margarine is not a
dairy product.
Esther is not on the committee
because she has nothing else to do.
(Turn to Page B 3)
One of the new events for the
committee this year was to print
40,000 placemats and distribute
them for use in local restaurants
during June Dairy Month. Ruth
Akers was in charge of the
placemats.
She and her husband Curtis farm
IS9 acres in Solanco and milk 60
cows. As a 10-year-member,
Akers believes dairy families
should all pitch in and do whatever
needs to be done.
“For the amount of dairy far
mers in the county, we have poor
representation,” she said.
Her sentiments were echoed by
fellow members who said that the
most frustrating thing about serv
ing on dairy promotion is involv
ing other farm families.
“Maybe we don’t ask the right
persons. But involvement is open
to everyone. Whoever would like
to help with the milk wagon or
other dairy promotion should call
Donna Kreider at (717) 284-4776
off, Donna
ibyn
or one of the other committee
members.
The committee’s newest recruit
is Renee Breneman who attended a
committee meeting for the first
time this month. She has helped
with the milk wagon and plans to
become an active member. She,
her husband James and two child
ren live in Lancaster. James is in a
farming partnership with his two
brothers.