It's more than just an expo to us

I still get nervous every time I put on my white show pants to take an entry into the show ring at the World Dairy Expo.

Whether it’s a cow that has seen the colored shavings at the Madison show before or — like this year — it’s a 7-month old rookie named Sexy Fern taking her first lap, exhibiting cattle at the largest dairy show in the world still gets the butterflies going in my stomach.

You’d think by now that feeling would have subsided. This year’s show is the 16th in a row that I’ve attended. I’m just 30 years old, so that means for more than half my life I have spent the first days of October at the World Dairy Expo. Fortunately, most of those

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Time to milk the cows

Meet Jim Jessen. He’s an account executive at BR who grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee and — prior to this week — had never even touched a cow (let alone milked one).

In honor of June Dairy Month, we thought we’d give Jim a mission: Milk your first cow.

Earlier this week, Jim and a few BR “aggies” traveled to Mapleton Valley Farms in Oconomowoc. Jim — who was worried his arms would be sore from all the milking — took the plunge.

Since this was his first milking experience, we wanted to find him a good instructor, so he could learn the proper way to milk. Phyllis Agnew, owner of the farm, gave Jim a tutorial before we let him loose. Check out the video below to see how it went!

Time to milk the cows! from Bader Rutter on Vimeo.

Lessons from my father

As Father’s Day approaches, it is the perfect time to reflect on the love, support and knowledge we’ve received from our fathers over the years. Every father is special, but for those of us who grew up in agriculture, dad always seemed to offer a little more unique, colorful life lessons.

We asked our associates what they’ve learned from their father, the farmer, over the years and received some great nuggets of advice. Read some gems below, including visual and written commentary.

• My grandfather was quite an entrepreneur. After living through the depression of the 1930s, he didn’t let that stop him from building a certified soybean seed business. I used to hang around him and his business and one philosophy he espoused was this: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” He used to tell me that when you’ve lived through something like the Great Depression, you live for the day because you just didn’t know what tomorrow could hold.  – Greg Nickerson, Chief Executive Officer 
  

• My dad taught me many important things. One of my favorite quotes is, “Make sure you enjoy what you do. Then it never feels like work.” Another is, “Work hard but don’t forget to have fun along the way.” – Lori Hallowell, Vice President, Group Leader 

Lori Hallowell

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Our very own pig in a blanket

Never let it be said that Bader Rutter’s creative talents are limited only to print and digital formats. We also do pretty well in pig.

 

In order to both support the pork industry and raise money for the Food Bank for the Heartland, a nonprofit organization that serves more than 300 food pantries and shelters in Nebraska and western Iowa, Bader Rutter’s Lincoln, Neb. office is participating in the Pigs on Parade public art project this summer. The project is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association (NPGA), and afforded Bader Rutter the opportunity to decorate a 2-foot-tall fiberglass pig. What an assignment!

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Become a dairy expert during June dairy month!

It’s June Dairy Month and there are plenty of reasons we’re celebrating it here at Bader Rutter! Our roots as an organization are firmly planted in food production and our Wisconsin headquarters places us in the heart of America’s Dairyland. Bader Rutter associates are actively involved in running dairy farms, supporting the introduction of new dairy products and helping dairy producers tell the story of the dairy industry. In fact, you can say we’re involved in the dairy industry from the farm gate to the dinner plate!

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Navigating brand confusion when tradition is involved

What an organization wants people to remember about its brand and what actually gets remembered is not always the same thing.

That’s an important thing to think about when branding. I learned this lesson first hand while serving as the 62nd Alice in Dairyland. While Alice is associated with the state of Wisconsin and its vast agricultural industries, it is a brand all its own that’s struggled with brand confusion because of a signature headpiece worn by Alice – a tiara.

The use of the tiara can lead to brand confusion because of common misconceptions. People often assume Alice is a beauty queen or princess, rather than the ambassador that she is. What’s more, the focus can shift from the importance of agriculture to the shiny object on Alice’s head. For example, I often left the tiara behind when I was visiting classrooms in an effort to limit confusion.

Despite the misconceptions, the tiara also has several benefits.

• Recognizable in a crowd - Creates interest, draws attention and increases the opportunity for communication

• Representative of Wisconsin - Tiara worn by Alice to represent all Wisconsin agriculture and designed by Wisconsin Jewelers Association with gemstones indigenous to the state, amethyst and citrines

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In advertising, what once was will likely be again

Despite all the financial gloom, a recent article on Yahoo interested me when it highlighted four bright spots in our economy.

1. Farming – “U.S. agriculture remains relatively resilient.” We can attest to that.  Agriculture is still our largest category of business. While other agencies have experienced significant losses and/or reductions, our agency continues to grow and thrive with the help of our ag-based clients.
2. U.S. Corporate Buying Frenzy – It’s hard to get through a week without hearing or reading about an acquisition, merger or hostile take over between two major brands. Just the other day while making my prospecting calls, I talked with two such companies involved (or trying not to be) in an acquisition of some kind.  Thankfully, I was aware of their situations.
3. Detroit and the automotive industry - Having worked in an advertising capacity with General Motors for 14 years more than a decade ago, I continue to watch the automotive industry with interest. Witnessing what happened was no surprise but a very sad and frightening part of our history considering the economic impact. I am, however, happy to say I have done my part in helping in the automotive industry recovery with the recent purchase of a new vehicle.

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"I don’t know a lot about cows, but I know I like cheeseburgers…"

Ron Dayne, former Wisconsin Badger and Heisman Trophy winner, got the crowd’s attention with that line Wednesday night at the Governor’s Red, White & Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction.

Since I attended this year’s auction, I thought it would be fun to give you a look at what the evening entailed, as well as some history about the program.

The Governor’s Auction, held every year at the Wisconsin State Fair, gives Wisconsin youth an opportunity to showcase high quality 4-H or FFA projects. More than 600 state fair junior exhibitors compete with their swine, sheep and beef market animals for a spot in the auction.

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Smartphone apps relative for agriculturalists too

Smartphones have been a standard part of the business professional’s day-to-day life for close to a decade. The need to be connected and available at all times led to the trend’s rapid adoption.

In the agriculture world it’s no different. It has always been important to be connected, whether by CB radios, to let someone know the cows were out, the bag phone, which became a staple in most farmers’ trucks, or the many generations of cell phones. Instant communication is a mainstay for those in production agriculture and many mobile developers are taking notice.

A very tech and social media savvy farmer and dairy producer in California posted a great blog discussing the apps on his phone that are the most prevalent in his day-to-day life, Top 10 Android apps for Farmers (iPhone too).

In his blog, Dino Giacomazzi discusses apps that provide information most farmers and producers would find beneficial. For example, he uses an app that acts as a level for planter calibration and another app provides target dates for quick math when it comes to planting decisions. He also takes advantage of map and weather apps.

With the increase of competition in the smartphone market users have more options than ever before. This is important with those in production agriculture because not every service provider covers the areas where farmers and producers are located.

Many farmers and producers are open to mobile marketing and are ready and waiting for new technologies to ease their daily duties and increase communication possibilities. The big question is what’s next?

Remembering Secretary Rod Nilsestuen

2009 Wisconsin State Fair, Cheryl O’Brien (left) with Sec. Nilsestuen (center) among others.

This is not first blog post that I envisioned writing here at Bader Rutter (I just started here at the end of June). But it is one I feel compelled to write.

Wednesday night, the agriculture industry lost a dear friend, Rod Nilsestuen. He served as the Secretary for the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) here in Wisconsin since his appointment in 2003. Nilsestuen drowned in Lake Superior near Marquette, Mich. A statement from his family indicated he had gone swimming after a hard day’s work volunteering with his church group on a Habitat for Humanity project. Nilsestuen was 62.

During his tenure as secretary, Nilsestuen’s leadership led to more diversification and growth throughout Wisconsin agriculture. I believe he was such an accomplished leader because of his upbringing, not only on a farm but in cooperation. Before Nilsestuen accepted the appointment to DATCP, he worked for more than 20 years in cooperatives including serving as president and CEO of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives to get people to work together to accomplish goals.

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Dairy promotion not limited to June

BR’er Cheryl O’Brien (center) serving as Alice in Dairyland.

While June Dairy Month has come and gone, the celebration of America’s dairy industry continues on for many of our associates.

For those of us who grew up in the dairy industry, promoting it is a passion for us. It’s something that’s second nature.

Growing up on a small Pennsylvania dairy farm, portraying a positive image for the dairy industry is one small way in which I can give back to what it’s given me. This includes the responsibility learned from daily farm chores, before and after school, or the satisfaction that comes from a day’s hard work of unloading wagons of hay in 90+ degree heat. It taught me perseverance while trying to train a stubborn Brown Swiss calf for show and the value of setting goals and working like crazy to reach them.

Promoting the dairy industry is about preserving it for our kids, so they can have the same life shaping experiences that we did. It’s why in early June, spending a couple hours on the State Capital steps talking about cows with consumers at Cows on the Concourse was a fun way to spend a Saturday.

It’s also why one of our newer associates spent her last year promoting it as Wisconsin’s 62nd Alice in Dairyland.

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After Hours: Three keys to marketing dairy cattle

During the day, I practice PR on behalf of the dairy portion of the Pfizer Animal Health business. On nights and weekends, I like to spend my time working with a group of Brown Swiss dairy cattle owned by my wife and two younger brothers which we call Brothers Three Brown Swiss.

Since we don’t milk cows, we rely on showing and merchandising our Brown Swiss to generate income and cash flow for our business.  One of the things I love about my job is being able to take the strategies and marketing recommendations we share with our clients every day and apply them to our own cattle marketing business.

In the video below, I share several keys to marketing our business that have proven successful in recent years.

If the jacket still fits …

It’s appropriate that National Ag Week fell this year at the same time we were fortunate enough to have two current members of the National FFA Officer’s Team, President Levy Randolph and Central Region Vice President Chase Rose, visit our Brookfield office.National FFA Central Region Vice President Chase Rose (left) and President Levy Randolf (right) offer encouragement as I try to fit into my FFA jacket from 1979.

As part of their year of service to the National FFA Organization they will travel more than 100,000 miles over 300 days to meet with the organization’s 500,000 members, government officials and corporate sponsors. They also had the opportunity to travel to Japan to study international trade and meet with government and agriculture officers there.

We are proud to be a sponsor of the National FFA Organization. We currently have more than 20 associates that were involved with FFA in high school or at the collegiate level, so we know first-hand how this organization prepares young men and women with skills that will be instrumental as they enter their careers.

Meeting Levy and Chase, and witnessing their enthusiasm and optimism for agriculture was refreshing. It reminded me of the great experiences I had as an FFA member and the need for me to “continue to wear my jacket” by supporting educational ag programs like this one.

Teat Tweets: Cows join Twitterverse

In today’s technologically advanced culture, it’s no surprise that technology is appearing in full force on dairy farms. Just a few decades ago, the idea of robotic milkers and computerized feeding systems was unbelievable. So, who would have thought that in 2010 cows could have their very own Twitter account? Well, a herd of Canadian Holsteins are, in fact, tweeting daily. Yep, you read that correctly — cows are now tweeting.

The farm, located just southwest of Toronto, has a robotic milker in place that allows cows to be milked multiple times a day – on their own schedule. The cows are equipped with their own neck collars that are read every time they come in contact with the robotic milker, telling the farm manager how much milk they are giving, as well as how often they have been milked that day.  This is a normal procedure for robotic milking setups, but the unique thing about this farm is that every time the robot reads a cow’s neck collar, the cows tweet on their own Twitter accounts!

The project was launched in December 2009 by the University of Waterloo in Canada. The tweets are a reflection of typical daily occurrences on a dairy, but in an entertaining way to help educate consumers through social media on the technical and day-to-day events on a dairy farm. 

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A salute to Ag Week

In celebration of National Ag Week, we wanted to showcase our associates’ deep-rooted love of agriculture. We hope you’ll enjoy this slideshow that tells the story of how the ag industry has shaped some of our associates’ lives, careers and work ethic.

We salute the hard-working farmers and all those who help them feed the world everyday, and we are proud to be a part of the process.

Happy Ag Week!