Strong Cheese Sales Trend
Continues In 2000
Last year’s strong cheese
market appears to be continuing
well into 2000. Commercial dis
appearance of total cheese in
creased 9 percent in the first two
months of the year compared to
the same time period the year
before, according to USDA fig
ures. In the retail sector, Neilsen
Research reports that, through
mid April, retail cheese sales in
creased 5.5 percent compared to
the same time period the year
before.
Total cheese sales have in
creased by an average of 3.5 per
cent a year for each of the past
eight years.
DMI vice president of cheese
marketing Dick Cooper reports
that one reason for the contin
ued success of cheese sales is the
integration of cheese marketing
programs managed by DMI on
behalf of the farmer-funded
dairy checkoff.
“We’re seeing a growing
awareness of cheese resulting
from the ‘Ahh, the power of
Cheese™’ advertising cam
paign,” Cooper said. “Plus, we
have stronger participation by
food retailers and processors, in
creased cheese featurings by na
tional restaurant chains and
strong public relations efforts,
including the current ‘Good
Morning with Cheese Recipe
Contest’ featuring the TV per
sonality Mr. Food. All of these
elements working together
result in a significant impact on
the market.”
Schools Increase Milk
Consumption, Win
Computer Prizes
More than 5,000 schools
across the country competed in
the 1999-2000 “Cartons for
Computers” contest to see
which school saw the largest in
crease in milk consumption
among its students.
Two Grand Prize-winning
schools received $lO,OOO in com
puter equipment and $2,000 in
foodservice equipment. In addi
tion, 25 regional prizes of $2,000
in computer equipment and
$5OO in foodservice equipment
were awarded to schools that
had the largest milk consump
tion increase in their region.
A special award was pre-
sented to an Indiana high school
for executing the most creative
in-school promotion of the con
test. The plan included different
milk-themed activities and spe
cial events, such as the “The
Sound of Moosic Day,” when
the school’s music class greeted
fellow students with milk songs
and jingles upon their arrival to
school that morning.
“The ‘Cartons for Comput
ers’ program not only teaches
students the bone-building bene
fits of milk, but also gives
schools an opportunity to win
computer equipment as an in
centive and helps educators
teach students strong technol
ogy skills,” said Kurt Graetzer,
CEO of the Milk Processor Edu
cation Program (MiIkPEP).
“Teen-agers are putting the
health of their bones at risk
when they choose soft drinks
oyer calcium-rich milk,” said
Linda Racicot, executive vice
president of domestic marketing
for Dairy Management Inc.™,
which manages the farmer
funded national dairy checkoff.
“By drinking at least four
glasses of milk a day, teens can
help build healthy bones to help
prevent the risk of osteoporosis
in the future.”
Dairy May Help
Dieters Lose Weight
Lowfat dairy foods may help
control body fat, according to a
study published in the May 25
Federation of American Soci
eties for Experimental Biology
(FASEB) Journal.
“We have shown that a diet
rich in lowfat dairy foods affects
the way in which fat cells do
their job,” said the study’s lead
researcher Michael Zemel,
Ph.D., department head and di
rector of nutrition, Nutrition In
stitute, University of
Tennessee.” A diet high in
lowfat dairy causes fat cells to
make less fat and turns on the
machinery to break down fat,
which translates into a signifi
cantly lower risk of obesity.”
In the study, four different
diets were administered to sepa
rate groups of mice. The diet
highest in lowfat dairy foods
yielded the greatest results in
helping control body fat. To
apply these findings to the
American human population,
Dairy Promotion Trends
the researchers analyzed the Na
tional Health and Nutrition Ex
amination Survey (NHANES
III) data set. After controlling
for caloric intake, physical activ
ity and other factors, researchers
learned that body fat was mark
edly lower in people who con
sumed more dairy.
Further evidence of the
dairy/weight loss connection
was presented at the 2000 Ex
perimental Biology Annual
Meeting in April. Separate re-
WASHINGTON, D.C.
U.S. Senator Rick Santorutn (R
-PA) recently sent a letter to the
chairman of the Senate Agricul
ture Committee asking for his
support for key funding for
Pennsylvania. Santorum is a
member of the Senate Agricul
ture Committee.
Santorum wrote to Sen. Rich
ard Lugar (R-IN), chairman of
the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry. Lugar
will be integral in the final fund
ing package for agriculture that
is approved by Congress.
Santorum wrote, “...it is my
understanding that the con
ferees will also consider the issue
of how to spend $7.1 billion that
was authorized for emergency
farm assistance under the
budget resolution. As conferees
begin forging this package, I
would respectfully call to your
attention the following items of
strong interest and concern to
me.
“First, I would encourage
your continued support of minor
and speciality crops. As we have
seen in previous emergency as
sistance packages, the lion’s
share of assistance continually
goes to large program crops to
the detriment of specialty crop
producers. While last year’s
emergency assistance package
was a step in the right direction,
there is a remaining need among
producers in the Northeast who
are still recovering, from last
year’s devastating drought. I
strong encourage the conferees
to dedicate adequate assistance
This National Association of Milk
Bottle Collectors truck is a
serialized first edition utilizing new
tooling. This 1 /25th scale unit is a
replica of the popular snub-nosed
Divco delivery truck of the '5O,
made popular by the dairy industry.
Only 750 serialized units have been
produced, and it will not be re
released. Each of the remaining
trucks comes with a limited edition
certificate. The cost per unit is
$49.95 (U.S.) or ,$64.95 (Canadian)
plus $3.00 shipping and handling.
Send check or money order to:
Milk Route, Attn: Tony Knipp,
Santorum Maintains Push
For Key Agriculture Funding
Milk Route
search from the University of
Tennessee showed that diets
high in iowfat dairy foods re
duced body fat by 69 percent.
Additional research from
Purdue University presented at
the 1999 Experimental Biology
annual meeting examined the
calcium intakes of women ages
Is-31 during a two-year period.
That study found that women
who obtained their calcium from
dairy foods lost more weight
than those who used non-diary
sources or supplements.
for specialty crops. Second, it is
imperative that we continue to
help our nation’s dairy farmers
who are receiving the lowest
prices for their milk in 20 years.
Given the inherent variability
that accompanies dairy farming,
these sustained, depressed
prices only compound the finan
cial position of dairy farmers. As
the commonwealth of Pennsyl
vania’s number one industry,
dairy production is an import
ant part of our economic and
social fabric.
“Finally, I ask you to keep in
mind the serious threat con
fronting the stone fruit industry
in Pennsylvania, and across the
nation, with the discover of
plum pox virus (PPV). The af
fected growers in Pennsylvania
were recently compelled to push
out and burn their infected
peach trees in order to destroy
the virus. Despite early and on
going efforts to secure compen
sation for removal and
eradication, it. has not been
forthcoming. A small invest-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 3, 2000-C3
Zemel’s study was conducted
in part to substantiate a link be
tween lowfat dairy and body fat
reduction first noticed nearly
ten years ago in a study of Afri
can American men. Although
the objective of the earlier study
was to examine the role of a
dairy-rich diet in reducing hy
pertension, the results also
showed that adding two cups of
yogurt reduced participants’
body fat by an average of about
11 pounds.
merit by the federal government
is a meaningful step in contain
ing the virus while compensat
ing growers for their loss of trees
and production.”
Santorum’s letter is his latest
push to achieve vital agriculture
funding. Recently, Santorum
and Sen. Arlen Specter an
nounced that the Senate Appro
priations Committee has
adopted legislation that author
izes the secretary of agriculture
to award emergency compensa
tion to farmers whose crops
have been destroyed by the plum
pox virus. The committee also
approved $l.l million for re
search into the plum pox virus.
In March, Santorum and Sen.
Herb Kohl (D-WI) proposed leg
islation to provide $5OO million
in emergency aid to dairy farm
ers who suffered severe eco
nomic losses in the past year.
Last August, Santorum intro
duced an amendment to the
fiscal year 2000 appropriations
bill to ensure that Pennsylvania
producers received a fair deal.
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