The Midwest Dairy Association’s programmes are reaching more people than ever before in the 10-state area with 39 million people. Dairy products are a big part of people’s plans to be healthier this year, so the year is already off to a good start.
Molly Pelzer, CEO of Midwest Dairy, said, “Our accomplishments and progress toward building trust and demand show the value of our checkoff at work.” “In 2023, we’ll continue to increase trust in dairy through nutrition and education and build on our relationships with new and existing retail partners.”
Midwest Dairy has been working on a three-year strategic plan since 2021. Their vision is to bring dairy to life to make the world a better place, and their mission is to work with others to give consumers a great dairy experience. In 2023, Midwest Dairy will use partnerships, work in schools, and industry innovation to reach more people and make checkoff funds have a bigger impact.
Collaboration is one of the most important parts of all programmes and activities that aim to grow the dairy industry and gain consumer trust. Midwest Dairy helps dairy farmers get the most out of their checkoff investments by working with and through partners to share information and real-time experiences that show how dairy products connect with consumers today.
With the Five Cheese and Sausage Pizza limited time offer, customers have been very interested in a new partnership with Godfather’s Pizza Express. The point-of-sale materials used in the three-month programme are paid for by Midwest Dairy.
Famous people on social media, like gaming and YouTube star MrBeast, who has millions of followers and shares his thoughts and promotes dairy, are still getting the word out to younger people about dairy.
Midwest Dairy continues to support dairy in schools based on research and a history of being a leader in student health and wellness.
Work that is being done on business case studies right now will help school administrators increase meal participation with smoothies made with dairy, coffee stations, and breakfasts made with dairy. Studies show that students are more likely to choose school meals when they come with a coffee drink. This encourages students who might not normally drink milk to do so. Both nutritious milk and the school meal programme get people excited about these dairy-based programmes.
A pilot STEM programme in high schools gives dairy farmers a chance to shape the next generation and explain things in a scientific way. Students learn how dairy is a part of a healthy lifestyle, how production decisions are based on science, and what kinds of jobs are available in the dairy industry.
The Cooperative and Processor Support (CAPS) programme is a way for Midwest Dairy to work with processors, farmer-owned cooperatives, and dairy food and drink manufacturers. Through this programme, Midwest Dairy gives new and innovative dairy products market research and consumer insights, as well as ongoing communication resources and help with marketing.
Midwest Dairy’s work is always centred on the farmer’s dairy story. Midwest dairy farmers, dairy groups, and agricultural organisations can share this story with the help of Dairy Grants. With these grants, great ideas for getting the word out to consumers about the dairy industry become a reality. In 2022, grants were used to bring dairy to new places and audiences, host events on farms, and connect with Gen Z consumers. Now is the time to put in an application for funding in 2023.
Midwest Dairy can change and meet customer needs because it has a strong base built on its success in 2022.
“We will keep building on our dairy promotion work into the new year,” Pelzer said. “This is to make sure that the money dairy farm families put into the checkoff works well for them.” “We’ll keep focusing on five things: increasing sales of dairy products, building trust, advancing research, getting people to support the dairy checkoff, and training farm and community leaders.”
