DMancaAar Fanning, Saturday, Juna 3, 2000
Dairy Promotion At Work To Help Drink Up Expanding Milk Supply*
COLUMBUS, Ohio In
2000, dairy production is ex
pected to exceed the 1999 record
•ly 163 billion pounds of
to the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture
(USDA).
Finding a home for this in
creased production is a major
challenge for dairy marketers
again this year. It will require
even more aggressive promotion
and new market-building ef
forts, reported Jenny Wilson di
rector of communication for the
American Dairy Association &
Dairy Council Mid East.
Over the past several years,
dairy demand for the most part
has been able to meet and some
times exceed production. Last
year, according to USDA esti
mates, total milk sales grew
about three percent to record
levels. Fluid milk sales rose
about one percent, while overall
cheese sales (retail, food service
and ingredient usage combined)
increased about six percent.
Dairy promotion efforts have
helped fuel this strong demand.
Two recent cheese marketing
campaigns involving partner
ships with grocery store retailers
led to cheese sales increases av
eraging seven percent and nine
percent, respectively. In the food
service channel, a partnership
with Wendy’s led to the launch
of the “Cheddar Lovers’ Bacon
Cheeseburger,” which increased
incremental cheese sales at
Wendy’s by 2.25 million pounds
during the promotion period.
“Working with processors
and retailers this past year has
really paid off for dairy farm
ers,” Wilson said. “When pro
cessors and retailers sell more
dairy products, dairy farmers
sell more milk.”
Even with these successes,
dairy promotion will need to
work even harder to keep pace
with current and future produc
tion. To accomplish this, promo
tion leaders are working toward
the development of a single uni
fied plan that more tightly fo-
cuses farmer dollars on priority
targets and issues.
“We need to focus more on in
vesting in those marketing pro
grams that create the greatest
demand for dairy products,”
Wilson said.
Promotion partnerships will
be essential in 2000 and beyond
to leverage farmer dollars into
demand-building efforts. Steps
being taken this year include:
• “Ahh, the power of
Cheese™” co-marketing cam
paigns with retailers and proces
sors will run throughout the
year.
• A hard-hitting producer
and processor-funded “got
milk?®” chocolate milk promo-
Grape, Raspberry Growers Can Tour Orchard
CLAYTON, N.J. Growers
and potential growers of grapes
and brambles will have the op
portunity to tour the progressive
fruit growing operation of
DeCou Hilltop Orchards on
Tuesday, June 6.
Starting at 6:15 p.m. special
ists with Rutgers Cooperative
Extension and the USDA Natu
ral Resources Conservation Ser
vice will lead a tour of bramble
and grapes plantings at DeCou’s
as they discuss new and innova
tive technology.
The DeCou’s farm is 350
acres of a variety of fruit along
Rt. 49 in Shiloh, N.J. According
to Rolf DeCou, production man
ager, approximately eight acres
of grapes for wine are planted on
various cordon training systems
with the varieties Chardonnay,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet
Franc, Merlot, and Chambour
cin. The DeCou’s sell all of their
varieties to local wineries.
Dr. Joe Fiola, specialist in
small fruit and viticulture with
Rutgers Cooperative Extension,
will discuss disease management
on these varieties and others
along with training, pruning,
and management systems. The
tion kicked off in March in thou
sands of schools and grocery
stores. The campaign is sup
ported by aggressive advertis
ing, publicity and grass-roots
promotions.
• Food service partnerships
are enticing will be negotiated
that entice major restaurant
chains to use more dairy. One
huge win farmers was the new
Pizza Hut six-cheese “Ultimate”
pizza, which included a pound
of total cheese on the large size
pizza.
• The “Milk Mustache Mobile
100-City Get Moo-ving With
Milk Tour” is on the road again,
delivering the “3 servings of
milk per day” nutrition message
“door to door” to consumers
DeCou’s also grow about IVi
acres of table grapes, including
the varieties Lakemont, Himrod,
and Reliance.
Jerry Frecon, agricultural
agent with Rutgers Cooperative
Extension, will lead the discus
sion of table grape varieties and
management.
Dr. Brad Majek, extension
specialist in weed management
with Rutgers Cooperative, will
discuss common weed problems
and weed management in new
and established grape and bram-
ble plantings.
Irrigation and water manage
ment will also be an important
focus of the meeting at DeCou’s.
Mary Beth Sorentino, irrigation
specialist with the USDA-
Natural Resources Conservation
Service, will discuss water needs
and systems for low water usage
and cost sharing programs
available to grape and bramble
growers. The DeCou’s low water
use system will be observed.
Fiola and DeCou will also dis
cuss new raspberry cultivars and
training and management sys
tems. Many of Fiola’s newest
primocane and floricane varie-
iune^p
more than 250 million times
from April through October.
• The Calcium Coalition, a
partnership involving nationally
recognized health organizations,
uses dairy farmer-funded re
search in promoting a calcium
rich diet, including dairy, to
combat the current calcium defi
ciency in the United States.
In Ohio, West Virginia and
western Pennsylvania, ADADC
Mid East is working to increase
dairy demand in schools by
working with school food service
personnel to make sure that
milk is served cold, and to see
that dairy’s nutrition message is
reaching children and teens.
What is more, a farmer-funded
ties have been under test at
DeCou’s, as well as established
varieties such as Canby, Heri
tage, Reivelle, and blackberry
cultivars. The DeCou’s market
most of their raspberries
through their farm market or di
rectly to other markets in south
ern New Jersey.
Dr. George Hamilton, special
ist in pesticides and pest man
agement with Rutgers
Cooperative Extension, will be
Ag Transporters To Learn
About High-Tech Help
ALEXANDRIA, Va. Tech
nology and how it can help agri
cultural trucking will highlight
the 2nd Annual Legislative and
Leadership Conference of the
Agricultural Transporters Con
ference of the American Truck
ing Associations.
The conference will be in
Washington, D.C. June 19-20.
The session will feature key
members of Congress and offi
cial from Washington’s agricul-
incentive program for school
food service directors is working
to ensure that pizzas contain 100
percent REAL cheese.
“Dairy producers can best
promote dairy products by
working with others to boost
demand,” Wilson added. “That
is why producers started the
dairy checkoff in the first place.
Given the continued increases in
production and increasing com
petition by other products, dairy
producers must find the most ef
ficient and effective ways to
work with retailers, processors,
health organizations, school and
commercial food service groups,
and others to help build dairy
demand.”
in attendance to discuss pro
posed revisions to the N.J. Pesti
cide Code affecting private
applicators, most of whom are
growers. New Jersey Pesticide
Applicator Units in the private
category and core will be given.
A complete copy of the pro
gram with directions is available
by contacting Jerome L. Frecon
at (856) 307-6450 or by e-mail at
gloucester@aesop.rutgers.edu.
ture and transportation
organizations.
Keynote speaker for the legis
lative dinner on June 19 will be
Congressman Don Sherwood of
Pennsylvania, a member of the
House Transportation and In
frastructure Committee. The
conference will feature a recep
tion for members of the House
transportation and infrastruc
ture and the House agriculture
committees Monday, June 19.
Speaker for the Tuesday, June
20, Agriculture Issues Luncheon
will be Congressman Baron Hill
of Indiana, a member of the
House Agriculture Committee.
Other speakers are Washing
ton National Public Radio
Editor Ron Elving and political
analyst Paul Weller, president of
Agri-Washington.
The new feature of the confer
ence will be an “Industry Tech
nology Update.” Experts will
explain and demonstrate tech
nological tools available to in
crease the efficiency and
profitability of the agricultural
transportation industry.
Additional information can be
obtained online at http;//www.
truckline.com
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