Tough
Editor’s Note:
The following Q. & A. col
umn addresses many of the
issues the Pennsylvania
Dairy Promotion Program
(PDPP), the American Dairy
Association & Dairy Council
Mid East (ADADC Mid East)
and Dairy Management
Inc.™ (DMI) face in deter
mining programs and prod
ucts to promote with nation
al dairy farmer check-off
funds. Scott E. Higgins is
CEO, American Dairy
Association & Dairy Council
Mid East. Pennsylvania
Dairy Promotion contracts
with the American Dairy
Association & Dairy Council
Mid East to work closely
with Dairy Management
Inc.™, the national check
planning and management
organization, to implement
dairy promotion and
research programs nation
wide. PDDPP represents
dairy farmers in 33 counties
in western and north central
Pennsylvania.
As CEO of American Dairy
Association & Dairy Council
Mid East, dairy farmers regular
ly ask me how we determine
where our national checkoff
funds are spent. I’m getting that
question a lot more since we
made some key changes m allo
cating our promotional dollars
this year. Our dairy promotion
spending in 1998 is based on
some of the most comprehensive
market research the industry
has ever seen. This research
identified which consumer tar-
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Dairy Decisions Don’t Stop at the Farm Gate
gets will provide the greatest
benefit long-term for the dairy
farmer It was a critical piece in
determining how to spend our
limited resources to ensure we
are making the wise, and some
times difficult decisions
required to increase dairy sales.
To help all checkoff partici
pants better understand how we
developed our national market
ing plan for 1998, here are the
most common questions (and
answers) I’ve been asked in
recent months.
Q. As CEO of American
Dairy Association & Dairy
Council Mid East, what are
some of the hardest deci
sions you’ve had to make
recently?
A. The biggest question we
have faced is deciding which
direction to take - where to
spend the dairy farmer checkoff
dollars - to have the greatest
impact in sales of milk.
Sometimes farmers become con
cerned about the decisions that
are made because the products
•we ultimately promote may not
be the same ones an individual
farmer receives the most return
on when selling his milk.
As an organization responsi
ble for leading promotional
efforts for dairy products, we
knew we needed j;o make our
decisions based on information
that told us where we could
build the strongest markets for
dairy products, now and in the
future. That’s why we invested
in a nationwide survey of con
sumers. This was a landmark
: V
K 7 .
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study that helped us clearly
define which types of products
and target consumers offer the
highest growth opportunities.
When we saw the results of that
study, it was clear that the
whole industry could benefit
most over the long term by pro
moting fluid milk consumption
in kids and higher cheese con
sumption among certain cus
tomers. To do that right and
make a difference, it meant we
couldn’t put money in other pro
grams or we’d be spreading our
selves and farmer dollars too
thin.
Making these tough calls is
just like the decisions dairy
farmers all the time. When mak
ing purchases, whether equip
ment or cows, farmers must do
their research. They get data,
ask questions and solicit input
from experts. They never have
all the dollars they’d like to have
to buy all they need, so they
'have to choose the route they
think is best and stay with their
choice long enough to evaluate
the benefits.
Our decision to market spe
cific f}airy products is no differ
ent. Only with time will we see
how it works. As an organiza
tion, we’re committed to making
the best decisions we can based
on facts and sticking with them
to build the best future we can
for all dairy farmers.
Q. What other decisions
have made big changes in
the way dairy products are
promoted?
A. Another big decision we
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made recently was to work more
closely with the fluid milk
processors through the Milk
Processor Education Program
(MiIkPEP) to promote milk. It
was time to make a commitment
to work with the processors in a
manner that ensures ALL dairy
promotion dollars are getting
in a coordinated way to
increase sales and be competi
tive with other beverages That
meant we could put $lBl million
toward promotions designed to
impact milk drinking among
young children and pre-teens
with dairy farmer-funded “got
milk 9 ®” campaign, and reach
teens and adults through the
processor-funded “milk mus
tache” campaign.
Part of this coordinated cam
paign calls for addressing some
of the major fluid milk market
ing obstacles, such as packaging
and distribution, that can only
be handled by the processors
We did the research that identi
fied the problems and possible
solutions Now the processors
are taking those solutions to the
market
We plan to take this coordi
nated farmer/processor effort
another step forward. The DMI
Board of Directors recently
decided to begin working with
the processors to construct one
integrated campaign to promote
fluid milk in 1999.
Q. What have been the
biggest challenges in making
those decisions on dairy pro
motion?
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has nearly 100,000 business
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owners, which the dairy indus
try does, there are going to be
differences of opinion Our chal
lenge was gaining regional con
sensus on a national plan No
national corporation, product or
industry can survive with 20 or
more different marketing plans.
We can’t either Fortunately,
since the merger of UDIA and
NDB under DMI, we have been
able to work together and it’s
making a big difference Total
dairy sales continue to rise
despite increases in production,
and surplus inventories are non
existent.
Q. What do you hope to
accomplish long term by
making these tough deci
sions?
A. We believe that if we all
work together with a singular
focus to our promotion efforts,
then we’ll sell more dairy prod
ucts. A healthy and growing
dairy industry means opportuni
ty, a more secure future and
potentially a more profitable
business for dairy farmers today
and tomorrow.
Q. What response can you
give to dairy producers who
have questions about how
their checkoff dollars are
being spent?
A. At ADADC Mid East, we
know that dairy farmers are
concerned that the checkoff dol
lars they invest are being well
spent. Our Board of Trustees are
dairy farmers, too. We are work
ing hard to ensure that farmer
dollars are supporting efficient
programs and getting results.