July 2011 Highlights « Back

Fuel Up to Play 60 in Minnesota
Midwest Dairy sponsored two pre-conference workshops at the Minnesota School Nutrition Association meeting in St. Cloud last month.  “Fuel Up to Play 60: Making Wellness Part of the Game Plan” was presented back-to-back to more than 130 attendees.  Seena Glessing, a dairy producer from Waverly, shared perspectives on her role as a provider of wholesome products, and Lisa McCann, Health and Wellness team member for Midwest Dairy, provided strategies and success stories from schools who have implemented Fuel Up to Play 60.  Janeen Peterson, supervisor of District 196 and president-elect of the School Nutrition Association, also joined the panel to testify how Fuel Up to Play 60 can meet the guidelines of the Healthy US School Challenge. 

For the first time, Midwest Dairy had an official Fuel Up to Play 60 presence at Vikings Training Camp in Mankato.  On Aug. 6, a booth we provided included board member and dairy producer Keith Knutson and his family, from Goodhue County.  Kids were recruited to sign the Fuel Up to Play 60 Pledge to get a wrist band and to enter a drawing to win signed Chad Greenway merchandise.  Parents on the sidelines engaged in conversation about the Fuel Up to Play 60 program with the Knutsons and Midwest Dairy staff. That evening in the Vikings VIP tent, Midwest Dairy greeted invited guests who represented Minnesota school districts that had activated Fuel Up to Play 60 in a major way last year.

Other Minnesota Updates
Well, it has been quite a summer so far. But, even from incredible heat to significant rain, it has not slowed down dairy checkoff activities in Minnesota.  Two board meetings have taken place since we last communicated with you.  First, the Minnesota Division Board met at the New Sweden dairy teaching facility. The facility is operated by the Davis family (Davisco), and helps educate veterinary students in a commercial dairy environment in conjunction with the University of Minnesota veterinary school.  After conducting the business of the board, they toured the milk production and laboratory facilities.  The Midwest Dairy Association Corporate Board of Directors also met recently at the Land O’ Lakes corporate headquarters.  There they heard from Chris Policinski, CEO of Land O’Lakes and chairman of the Consumer Confidence committee of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, outline plans for an upcoming campaign to support dairy’s place in the eye of the public.  They also heard from Dairy Management Inc.’s CEO Tom Gallagher regarding the future direction of the national dairy checkoff program. In addition, Mike Kruger, CEO of Midwest Dairy Association was honored for 30 years of service to the organization and dairy producers.

This is also a big week for Midwest Dairy – the State Fair begins on Thursday and we’ll crown a new Princess Kay.  As she entered the final month of her reign, Katie Miron, the 57th Princess Kay of the Milky Way, continued to spread the word about Minnesota’s dairy industry to consumers. She traveled to Rochester to assist at the Miracle of Birth Center at the Olmsted County Fair. Katie also visited a school in Minneapolis with Viktor the Viking, giving her final Viktor Assembly presentation. The Fuel Up to Play 60 program has been an instrumental part of her messaging this year. She’s also attending events with our butter sculptor, Linda Christensen, who is celebrating 40 years of butter sculpting at the Minnesota State Fair this year.

In our Dairy Goodness Bar, one of the top three concessions at the Fair, we have a whole new line of malt and ice cream machines to keep up with the growing business.  We hope you’ll stop in!

Better yet, there are still openings to serve milk at the Milk Stand.  The University of Minnesota Ag Ed Club manages this staffing.  You can volunteer on line by visiting https://cfans.wufoo.com/forms/milk-stand-volunteer-form/;or emailing milk@umn.edu.

We’ll also be promoting Farmers Feed US at the fair.  This campaign, in its second year, allows Minnesota residents to enter to win a year’s worth of free groceries. Until October 13, consumers can visit www.farmersfeedus.org/mn and register to win one $5,000 grand prize and two $1,000 prizes in free groceries. We’ll be registering at the Fair in our social media booth across from the butter sculptures.

If a Midwest Dairy Malt Wagon was in your area this summer, you may have noticed the brigade of eight wagons that travel to local events across the state received a facelift just in time for the summer season. As part of the “People Behind the Product” marketing initiative, the malt wagons’ graphics were replaced with new images of dairy producer families and a veterinarian. The new photos and designs also display facts about the benefits of dairy, the industry in Minnesota and how dairy farmers provide excellent animal care. The malt wagons also deliver information about Fuel Up to Play 60.

Representatives of SUPERVALU’s northern region, Knowlan’s (Festival Foods), Jubilee, Mackenthun’s and Cub gathered bright and early on July 12 in Eden Prairie, Minn., for a Midwest Dairy Association Retail Academy. The day-long event brought participants to the Kemps milk processing plant in Rochester and to Gar-Lin Dairy in Eyota, Minn. In between tours of the plant and dairy farm, participants had lunch in downtown Rochester and listened to presentations on the bus about how dairy travels from the farm to their stores. Presenters included Midwest Dairy staff members and associate professor of animal science at Iowa State University, Dr. Leo Timms. More than 25 supermarket representatives, managers and employees attended.

Working with the Minnesota Beef Council, we also provided a day of dairy education to a group of nutrition professionals.  A vist to the John and Berlinda Vander Wal farm near Pipestone was part of the event, and it helped to convey animal care facts and specified the safe process from milk moving from the farm to consumers.  Midwest Dairy registered dietitian Carolyn Hudson also had time on the program the following day as the group sat down to a number of presentations about dairy and beef.