I Ain't Saying She's a Gold Digger…

News EditorGeneral

bachelorsSingletons, here is your perfect opportunity to meet a wife – on TV! Just be sure to have her sign a pre-nup!

The producers of American Idol are traveling around the country to find a different kind of television star. Farmers Only! Based on a hit overseas TV show, ‘The Farmer Wants a Wife’ matches a spirited farmer who doesn’t have much time to meet women. And with a handful of available ladies from all walks of life who dream of living a traditional, small town lifestyle, the producers will be traveling all around the United States in the coming weeks to find young, attractive male farmers who fit the bill.

“We are looking for farmers in their mid 20’s and 30’s who are single and looking to meet the right girl,” says Michele DiNardo of Fremantle Media North America. “We’re looking for hard-working, fun-loving, family-oriented, and who love the traditional, small-town way of life.”

For more information or to receive an application to be on the show, call 818-755-1253.

Winning Chocolate Milk Display

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Promotion

Joseph’s Super Valu of Ishpeming, Mich., was the grand prize winner of the WMMB “Chocolate Milk. Great Nutrition in DisguiseSpeaking of chocolate milk, here’s a picture of the winning display in a contest run by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board recently awarded Terry Sell, store manager of Joseph’s Super Valu in Ishpeming, Mich. and Paul Linsmeyer, sales representative of Morning Glory Dairy as grand prize winners of the “Chocolate Milk. Great Nutrition in Disguise.” retail display contest.

More than 30 grocery retailers entered the contest, which was designed to help Wisconsin retailers, as well as those located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota, increase their REAL Chocolate Milk sales during the month of October.

Winners were selected based on their creativity, originality, innovative use of the theme, “Chocolate Milk. Great Nutrition in Disguise.™” and their display’s potential to boost sales of Chocolate Milk in their grocery stores. Joseph’s Super Valu created a spooky red barn filled with mummies and costumed cows showcasing REAL chocolate milk in the center of the dairy case.

Food Fear?

News EditorGeneral

If you haven’t yet heard, the opinions and values of the American consumer are driving agriculture. Read this editorial, and you’ll start to realize how our markets and end-users are changing.

The nation has a serious case of food phobia. Faster than you can say, “Hold the mayo,” food has become America’s great obsession. Folks want to think the food they eat is doing good things for their bodies, whether or not it is. While changing eating habits is hard, many Americans are doing it.

Don’t think the foodmakers and sellers don’t know this. It’s changing the way restaurants operate, with even Denny’s announcing plans this week to nix trans fats. It’s changing the way foodmakers produce and market foods. It’s changing the way the biggest grocers operate, with Wal-Mart becoming an organic kingpin. And it’s changing the way consumers purchase, cook and eat.

Driving much of this: fear. Following years of fixation over 9/11, says Joyce Brothers, the syndicated psychologist, Americans have found a new fixation: food. “We’ve transferred our fears over terrorist acts to fears about food,” says Brothers.

Pour Milk on These New Cereals

News EditorGeneral

Just when you thought the recent fruits and veggies wave would help make your New Year’s resolution to get in shape easier, two new chocolate cereals will be introduced in 2007.

Quaker Oats will launch Life Chocolate Oat Crunch low-fat, high-fiber whole grain cereal in February based on consumer feedback that asked for a healthy cereal “that delivers nutrition [and satisfied] their cravings … for an indulgent chocolate taste,” said a spokesperson.

In January, at the height of dietary resolution season, Kellogg will introduce Special K Chocolatey Delight. A spokesperson said the brand fits in with the two-week, weight-loss challenge familiar to Special K lovers.

Bring Chocolate Milk Back!

News EditorHealth, Milk

This story was a pleasant surprise to me – parents in N.Y. have formed a coalition to bring flavored milk back into their children’s schools. Glad to hear people recognize that chocolate and strawberry milk are better choices than soda.

Public school students are drinking 10% less milk than a year ago, which members of the coalition, Advocates for School Milk Choice, blame on a city policy to reduce offerings of flavored milk starting last year. In what was called an effort to reduce obesity rates, the city has phased out whole milk and chocolate milk — the no-fat type — is now served only on Fridays.

The milk choice advocates, who are testifying in a City Council hearing today called by Council Member William de Blasio, warn that calcium deficiencies could lead to just as many problems as obesity. They are pushing the city to reinstate flavored skim milk every day.

“Milk is a backbone of nutrition, and to make a change that would inherently mean children would drink less milk … there needs to be a discussion with parents,” he said.

Cow Parade Auction Raises Big Moo-lah

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral, Promotion

Cow Parade 2005 The CowParade Wisconsin 2006 herd of artistically created fiberglass cows that grazed Madison and surrounding communities for nearly five months has raised more than $550,000 to benefit charity. The majority of the proceeds will help build the new American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. Proceeds will also benefit more than 30 other non-profit organizations.

The “Dazzle in Dairyland” live auction drew more than 500 people to the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall on Friday, November 10. The 44 cows offered at the live auction sold for $363,500 – an average of nearly $8,300 per cow.

The 37 cows sold through the CowParade Wisconsin online auction grossed $188,450 and averaged $5,093 – the highest online total since the Houston CowParade in 2001.

The CowParade Wisconsin auctions conclude an event that colorfully showcased the Wisconsin dairy industry to millions of people across the state and country. Throughout the event, dairy industry messages reached more than 15 million people via print, radio, television, and web media.

Read more from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

New Dairy Leadership at Dean Foods

Chuck ZimmermanIndustry News

AccuRakeDean Foods Company has a new senior vice president who’s also the chief procurement officer for their dairy group. The announcement was made yesterday.

Holcomb joins the company from the turnaround management team at Royal Group Technologies Limited (RGTL), a leading producer of polymer-based building materials, where he was senior vice president of global materials and supply. At RGTL he had P&L responsibilities for RGTL’s chemicals plants in North America and operations in China, and managed procurement and supply as well as the overall project management function for the company.

AccuRake From Nikkel Iron Works

Chuck ZimmermanEquipment, Farm Show

AccuRakeIf you’re hoping to make hay while the sun shines then Nikkel Iron Works has a new tool for you. It’s one example of the kind of new equipment you’ll see on display if you attend the upcoming World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA. Remember that they’ve got a very large dairy section as well.

Farmers, locally and nationwide, will soon have a new tool at their fingertips to make baling hay easier and more profitable. That product, the DARF AccuRake™, will be unveiled February 13-15 at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif — the world’s largest agricultural exposition — where it will be honored as a 2007 New Product Nominee.

“It’s a perfect venue to showcase it and introduce it to the farming community,” said Andrew Cummings, president of Shafter-based Nikkel Iron Works. The company invented the AccuRake and will display it at North Street space 62 at the World Ag Expo.

The AccuRake precision hay raking system enhances the proven DARF wheel rake. The system provides for precise depth control of the rake tines regardless of terrain. The main benefits of the system are cleaner, higher quality hay and reduced tooth wear. The exclusive, patent pending design also provides for less stress and wear on other components. The precise control of rake tooth height keeps clods and stones out of the windrow and also results in much less dust while raking.

“Since the teeth aren’t in the dirt, you aren’t going to have that wear and tear. You will double or triple the life of your hay rake teeth,” Cummings said.

Dannon is Processor of the Year

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Business, Yogurt

DannonThe Dannon Company just received a big award. It’s the 2006 Processor of the Year, which is awarded by Dairy Foods.

The Dannon Company is one of two yogurt companies to have been named Processor of the Year since the award’s inception in 1983 – the other being Stonyfield Farm, which is also a subsidiary of Groupe Danone and which was acknowledged with the award in 2003. Dairy Foods presents the award annually to a dairy processor that demonstrates extraordinary recent or long-term accomplishments.

For Dannon, 2006 has marked a strong year in the U.S., including the launch of Activia™, the first and only probiotic lowfat yogurt available in the U.S. that is clinically proven to help naturally regulate your digestive system in two weeks when eaten daily, as part of a healthy and balanced diet, and the introduction of Light & Fit Crave Control™, the only reduced-sugar nonfat yogurt made with fruit, cereal and ProteinFiberPlus™, to help satisfy hunger. Activia has surpassed $100 million in net sales in the U.S since its launch in January 2006, a feat less than one tenth of one percent of all new products reach in their first year in the U.S.

Dairy Numbers Up in New Zealand

Chuck ZimmermanInternational

Statistics New ZealandAccording to the latest numbers from Statistics New Zealand, dairy cattle numbers have increased in the last year in that country.

Sheep and dairy cattle numbers have increased since 2005, Statistics New Zealand said today. Beef numbers have remained stable and deer numbers have decreased. These numbers are taken from the provisional results of the 2006 Agricultural Production Survey.

Sheep numbers reached 40.1 million at 30 June 2006, up from 39.9 million a year earlier. This is the first time that sheep numbers have increased two years in a row since they started declining from their peak of 70.3 million in 1982. There were 33.8 million lambs tailed during the year to 30 June 2006, up 2 percent since 2005. The number of lambs tailed from ewe hoggets increased by 13 percent to 1.5 million, reflecting the increase in the number of ewe hoggets put to ram in 2005.

Dairy cattle numbers increased to 5.2 million in 2006. This is up 3 percent on the number estimated a year earlier. The number of cows and heifers in milk or calf was up 2 percent to 4.2 million.

Deer numbers decreased 6 percent to 1.6 million. The major contributor to this drop was the 9 percent decrease in the number of female deer mated, which fell to 745,000.

Final results from the 2006 Agricultural Production Survey will be available in April 2007.