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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The flavor of the day

Bader Rutter is in the heart of the unofficial frozen custard capital of the world. For those unfamiliar with this decadent treat, frozen custard is like ice cream, but contains eggs and extra butterfat to make it extra delicious. Southeastern Wisconsin is known for this dairy delicacy, so we thought there was no better way to close out June Dairy Month than to crown a Bader Rutter Frozen Custard King.

To keep the playing field even in Milwaukee’s custard war, vanilla custard from five local establishments (Kopp’s, Murf’s, Culver’s, Gilles and Leon’s) was presented in a blind-taste fashion.

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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.

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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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.

Urgency, relevance, accuracy

Panelists from left to right: Patti Hurtgen, David Pelzer, Corey Geiger and Pam Jahnke.

When it comes to communications, dairy producers are not much different than electrical contractors, health care providers, home gardeners or other end users our clients are trying to reach. They all want trustworthy sources of information that are timely, concise, and easy to find.

That’s the message I took away from a panel discussion earlier this month that addressed the future of agricultural communications. The venue was the 125th anniversary celebration for Hoard’s Dairyman, one of the leading dairy trade magazines.

Panelists were:

• Patti Hurtgen, Hoard’s Dairyman
• David Pelzer, Dairy Management Inc. 
• Corey Geiger, Hoard’s Dairyman
• The “Fabulous Farm Babe” Pam Jahnke, Wisconsin Farm Report

Their thoughts covered a variety of topics, but revolved around five key themes:

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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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World Ag Expo awe-inspiring

I recently had the opportunity to attend World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif., one of the world’s largest agricultural trade shows. It was fascinating to see, all in one location, the full breadth of the nation’s agricultural industry — from implements and milking equipment to animal health products and forage and nutrition.

With more than 1,500 agricultural exhibitors on 2.6 million sq. ft. of exhibition grounds and 100,000 attendees, it’s not surprising that several Bader Rutter associates attended the show on behalf of various clients, including Pfizer Animal Health, Dairy Management, Inc. ™, and Mycogen Seeds.
 
Click through the photo slide show below to see a few highlights from World Ag Expo 2010.

Growing more than crops and calves

Laurie’s grandpa, Bob Peterson, watches over the family farm

For many dairy farmers in Wisconsin and across the country, 2010 couldn’t come soon enough, as the New Year brings hope of better milk prices and balance sheets. A recent article in Dairy Herd Management reflected on the dairy industry’s roller coaster ride in 2009, as well as lessons learned by six dairy farmers nationwide.

The article made me wonder what lessons my parents and brother learned last year managing their 350-acre, 100-head dairy farm in west central Wisconsin. They had a tough year, but are somehow weathering the storm and making it through.

During my trip home for the holidays, my 85-year-old grandfather stopped by for his morning coffee and daily discussion of the farm happenings. He reminded me that it is important to remember the family heritage, hard work and dedication that make our farm what it is today, and, hopefully, what will keep it operating for generations to come.

Persevering through hard times
My dad, like dairy farmers everywhere, forges into each day — snow, sleet, wind or hail — knowing that the farm, the cows and the fields are his legacy, pride and business. He takes with him the lessons learned, experiences had and memories made over the last several decades, and applies them to the financial struggles, sick calves and frozen pipes facing him today.

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Water ’n Poo

At the root of every farmer is a foundation of hard work, pride and love. That sentiment was emphasized for us recently as we watched a Gilmer Dairy Farm music video, Water ‘n Poo. The video is a single shot of a farmer in the cab of his tractor fertilizing his field while singing a song about on-farm nutrient management. It’s an amusing way to spread the word about the pride dairy farmers have in the work they do and in being environmentally responsible.

The curiosity about where our foods come from and how they affect our world has intensified significantly. This is especially true with the release of books like Fast Food Nation and Omnivore’s Dilemma, movies like Food Inc. and Supersize Me, and a constant tidal wave of opinions streaming through social media channels such as Twitter and YouTube.

In too many cases, industrial farms are labeled as the enemy. But farmers have joined the conversation to tell their story, in their own words. The foods we need to nourish our bodies — the milk, the vegetables, the proteins — come from the hands of real people and families whose livelihoods depend on a healthy planet.

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Bridging the divide between city and farm

Some people from my rural hometown, and even a few of my agriculture college classmates, often complained that “city people” don’t take time to understand the importance of the agricultural industry. But, I’m a farm kid, too. And after moving from a home where we didn’t have a grocery store within 15 miles, to a mid-size college town, to the big city of Milwaukee, my viewpoint changed. I started to understand that it is equally important for us “farm folk” to understand the perspective of the general consumer and agriculture’s biggest critics.

That’s why I liked a recent article called, “The Ten Reasons They Hate You So,” from the Truth in Food Web site, an independent group exploring the food system using scientific research, thought-provoking views and humor. While the article may take an extreme perspective, it provides a unique view on why food-consumer-activists may take issue with the role of large farms and industrial agriculture in today’s food system.

One of my favorite lines from the article is:

“Today’s farmer is just as generationally divorced from the modern, urban liberal-arts university as his city cousin is from the farm.”

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From farm to fork

While having lunch the other day, I was reminded again how thankful we are at Bader Rutter to be connected to the food industry. I was making a salad from a local grocery store salad bar, and started to think about how almost all the ingredients were somehow connected to our work.

We help clients market products that protect the lettuce and vegetables. We tell the stories of the dairy farmers who produce the cheese. We promote the messages of the pork industry that produces bacon bits. And we help market seeds to the sunflower growers whose product tops my salad with a little crunch.

Through public relations, advertising and digital solutions, we also support several manufacturers whose equipment is used to plant, harvest, cook, process, package and even distribute food to America’s dinner table.

Working with the people in all of these industries — from farming to processing to packaging — has given us a greater understanding of what it takes to provide the delicious and nutritious foods that sustain our families and communities. We are honored to be even a small part of that process.

e-Media frenzy adds to AP’s prominence

In the latest post in our Marcom A to Z blog series, A for Associated Press, Anna Baxter Kirk discussed the growing prominence of the Associated Press, attributable mainly to a greater reliance on syndicated news as budgets and staffs are cut at publications across the country. I agree, and want to add that in my experience the Associated Press’ prominence is growing also because of the instant accessibility of the World Wide Web and the truly global news platform it provides.

On Monday, AP reporter Lisa Rathke posted an article, Greener diet reduces dairy cows’ methane burps, in which our client, Dairy Management Inc., was quoted. It could have been the catchy headline or the intrigue of cow burps, because within 24 hours, the article was posted or linked to on more than 10,000 Web sites. Talk about a quick way to spread your message.

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June Dairy Month – Party till the cows come home

Milk prices are down at the farm — about half of what they were a year ago. So even though June is dairy month, it may be more difficult than usual for the industry to strap on a party hat and celebrate. But to us, that is exactly what we need. Lower prices mean there is even more reason to remind everyone of all the things we love about dairy.

To show our support of the dairy industry and to celebrate June Dairy Month, we asked our associates to take a dairy quiz to earn an ice cream sundae bar at work. What better way to celebrate our love for dairy than by eating ice cream? Not surprisingly, we got an excellent response rate. Here are a few of the interesting tidbits we learned about our associates and their sometimes slightly odd relationship with dairy.

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