Checkoff News

Dairy Checkoff Successes: How Producers Helped Drive Sales in 2008

Rosemont, IL – Through their checkoff investment in 2008, dairy producers helped the dairy industry grow for today and for the future by helping to meet unmet demand and giving consumers more of what they want, when and where they want it. 

“In a rapidly changing world, America’s dairy producers are working through their dairy checkoff investment to secure a better future,” said Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff program. “In 2008, the dairy checkoff helped build sales through strong partnerships, innovation initiatives and the formation of a new industry-wide organization to address solutions to long-term industry challenges.”

Gallagher cited these key accomplishments that helped dairy producers and the U.S. dairy industry grow sales in 2008 and beyond.

  • DMI established the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Through DMI, dairy producers, in collaboration with National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), and International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), created the Innovation Center to work across the industry to address the barriers to becoming more consumer-driven.  The Innovation Center’s key priorities include: sustainability; health and wellness; product development and communications; globalization; consumer confidence; and regulatory (excluding pricing).
  • Demand for U.S. exports reached record highs.  Export development and marketing programs contributed to an all-time high in worldwide demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. In the first nine months of 2008, total exports represented 11 percent of total U.S. milk production. Through the U.S. Dairy Export Council®, dairy producers found a home for increasing milk production to Mexico, Russia and the Pacific Rim, among other key markets.
  • Dairy sales in foodservice continued growing. The dairy checkoff has succeeded in changing the face of foodservice related to dairy. Today, more than 60,000 restaurants across the country, including Burger King®, McDonald's®, SONIC Drive-In®, Subway® and Wendy's®, offer milk in plastic bottles to their customers. In 2008, SONIC added string cheese as an option in their kids' meals, while Burger King developed and tested a new macaroni and cheese side item that appears on kids' menus in select locations.

Dairy producers also are working to sell more cheese by reinvigorating the pizza category, an essential part of the overall cheese market, through long-term partnerships with Domino’s Pizza®.

DMI’s foodservice partners have invested more than $100 million of advertisements that prominently feature dairy. Over the past five years, DMI foodservice partnerships have increased sales of milk, cheese and yogurt by more than 1 billion pounds.

  • Dairy sales through ingredient marketing saw impressive growth. Dairy producers work with food and beverage manufacturers to provide dairy-based products that meet consumer needs for healthy, convenient options. For example, dairy checkoff staff worked closely with research and development staff at Starbucks® Coffee Company to create smoothies that contain whey protein, milk and at least one serving of fruit. A partnership with General Mills, Inc. has resulted in Yoplait® frozen yogurt chips that blend with milk for a delicious, nutritious drink. All told, new dairy ingredient-based products will require an additional 1 billion pounds of milk in their first full year after launch.
  • Nutrient-Rich Foods Coalition brought science-based nutrition research to public health leaders. National Dairy Council® (NDC) was a founding member of the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition™ (NRFC), which represents the five food groups. In 2008, the coalition worked to help people build healthier diets by forming a scientifically validated nutrition index that measures the full nutrient contribution of a food, rather than examining it only for specific nutrients to avoid. Dairy checkoff staff will communicate NDC’s nutrition research during the formation of the government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and will help the industry identify ways to leverage “nutrient-rich” as a point of differentiation in their marketing, communications and innovations efforts.
  • Health professional partnerships built awareness of dairy’s role in a healthy diet. NDC continued to leverage producer investments in nutrition research through education efforts that target physicians, dietitians and other health professionals. Partnerships with national and state health professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association, provide science-based research supporting the recommended 3 servings of dairy a day to more than 250,000 health professionals, who in turn can educate their patients.
  • Industry-wide sustainability initiative was formed to help grow sales for the future. Dairy producers have had a long-standing commitment to preserve and protect our natural resources. The U.S. dairy industry’s new Sustainability Initiative unites producers, processors, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and others to identify opportunities to reduce energy use and increase dairy sales.
  • Issues management and crisis preparedness kept the industry prepared. National and local checkoff organizations have grown more prepared to respond, with one unified voice, to criticisms or attacks on the dairy industry. For example, as the China melamine contamination unfolded in late 2008, the U.S. dairy checkoff closely monitored the situation and provided the industry with timely updates. DMI training workshops prepare checkoff and other industry staffs to respond to potential crisis situations.
  • Producers established Child Nutrition and Fitness Initiative (CNFI) to help improve children’s health and wellness.  Dairy producers are continuing their long-standing commitment to childhood nutrition and health by helping combat obesity – the nation’s number one public health issue, especially among children. CNFI helps establish healthy, lifelong dairy consumers by combining healthy eating – including dairy – with physical activity. It joins together national and local dairy council expertise on nutrition with NFL’s Play 60 program, which encourages at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. The goal is improved access to and consumption of dairy products – and other food groups to encourage – in schools. CNFI builds on the success of existing school programs, including New Look of School Milk (NLSM), which in 2008 brought white and flavored milk in single-serve plastic containers to nearly 11,000 schools (up from 9,500 in 2007), reaching 6 million children.
  • Dairy checkoff helped producers tell their story to the public. The dairy checkoff launched “Telling Your Story,” a producer image training program that in 2008 touched 700 dairy producers and more than 100 other dairy industry spokespersons. The program offers producers training in public relations, presentations and media interviews. Through the training, producers learn techniques to communicate with their neighbors and communities, and receive assistance in communicating with the public about animal care, the environment, and milk quality and safety.  In addition, the content of www.dairyfarmingtoday.org, the popular dairy industry web site, was expanded to drive increased public awareness of how dairy producers and the dairy industry practice social responsibility in producing milk for the nation and the world.

“In 2008, the dairy checkoff program delivered innovation, leadership and results,” Gallagher concluded. “These efforts, along with other checkoff initiatives, have helped position dairy producers favorably, not just today, but for the future.”

To learn more about dairy checkoff programs, visit www.dairycheckoff.com.

 

United Dairy Industry of Michigan | 2163 Jolly Road, Okemos, MI 48864 | Contact UDIM | ph: 800.241.MILK • 517.349.8923 | Fax: 517.349.6218