Multi-media Campaign Launching In Australia

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 17, 2006Dairy Group, International, Promotion

Speaking of Dairy Australia, the organization is about to kick off a major promotional campaign this weekend.

The Australian dairy industry will launch a $4 million multi-media campaign this weekend to promote their products as a “good for life” food. The campaign will air in state capitals as well as regional Victoria, NSW and Tasmania. Dairy Australia marketing chief Richard Lange said that although dairy had a strong following among consumers, “confusing and conflicting messages about a range of foods has prompted us to increase our activities and take to the airwaves again”.

The campaign will include television, print, web, point of sale, billboards, and in-store and outdoor sampling. The dairy industry last ran a campaign, Dairy – The food of life, in 2001-04.

Australian Cow Train

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 17, 2006Dairy Group, Education, International, Promotion

After waiting on a couple trains in the last week myself, I can understand how these bovines must feel. These cow statues will be part of a unique dairy educational promotion in Melbourne, Australia. They are pictured waiting for the Melbourne Show train at the Flinders Street Station.

The cows are being used to highlight dairy as Victoria’s largest export earner. There are 1.3 million dairy cows in Victoria producing two thirds of the nation’s milk and more than $2.1 billion in exports to Asia, Europe and the Americas. The blank cows will be sent to schools throughout the state where they will be decorated as part of a competition milking the talents of primary school students. The students’ finished art will be seen grazing at prominent Melbourne train stations and at this years show from September 21 to October 1.

Dairy Australia’s marketing chief Richard Lange said: “The initiative is giving Victorian school children the chance to get creative while highlighting the goodness of dairy as well as the industry’s economic contribution to Victoria. Although the model cows can’t produce milk, the school that produces the most MOOving work of art will win a $1000 Myer voucher to spend on new equipment for their canteen or school. The decorated cows will be announced at the Royal Melbourne show on World School Milk Day, September 27.

Participating schools will be able to keep their cow creations, reminding kids of dairy’s goodness and health benefits. These cows don’t eat much and are very tame just like their cousins!

Bovine Genome Project Releases New Material

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 16, 2006Genetics, Government

Researchers from the Bovine Genome Sequencing Project are nearing completion on sequencing the genome of the cow and have released on free public databases bovine genetic information, including the most current, complete and accurate genome sequence and an upgraded genetic map.

According to a USDA-ARS release, the new bovine genome sequence contains 2.9 billion DNA base pairs and incorporated one-third more data than earlier versions. This high-quality sequence, which covers 95 percent of the genome, will enable researchers to make accurate gene predictions and evolutionary comparisons. The sequencing was conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center, in Houston.

The sequence data is available on the Baylor website.

Raising the Bar Enhances Corn Silage

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 16, 2006Audio, Forage Forum, General, Podcast

Improved fiber digestibility can be a major benefit of chopping corn silage higher, according to Dr. Bill Mahanna, coordinator of global nutritional sciences for Pioneer Hi-Bred. While raising the cutting bar reduces tonnage, Bill points out the nutritional gains can be substantially rewarding. Specific adjustments should be determined case-by-case, and he suggests what factors should drive those decisions. He also highlights research that further indicates quality can outweigh quantity.

Dr. Bill Mahanna on corn silage chopping height. (4 min MP3)

Forage Forum is a regular podcast which you can subscribe to on your computer. Visit our “How To Subscribe To Forage Forum” page for instructions. If you’re already familiar with podcasting you can use this link to subscribe or you can also easily subscribe in iTunes.

Barn Fun

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 15, 2006Dairy Business, International

It’s been a long trip and sometimes you start to get a little goofy. I tried to interview old Betsy here but she wasn’t interested.

As you might expect, we had to suit up to go into the dairy barn. I thought I looked pretty fashionable in my blue suit.

My group was going to take a turn going out into the field for a demonstration but it started to pour down rain so we stayed inside.

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Uploading Dairy Data Via Internet

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 15, 2006Audio, Genetics, International

One of the companies helping sponsor the IFAJ Congress here in Norway is GENO Breeding and A.I. Association.

On our dairy tour today, Torstein Steine, Director of Breeding and Research, gave us an overview of the Norwegian Cow Record System. GENO is very involved in this project which has an immense amount of data online now.

Torstein says that over a third of all the dairy producers in Norway directly input their data via the internet, including the farm we were on today.

I interviewed him after his presentation so you can learn more here: Torstein Steine Interview (4 min MP3)

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Hearing From The Robotic Expert

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 15, 2006Audio, International, University

Before we got to go into the dairy barn on today’s IFAJ Congress tour we learned about automatic or robotic milking from the expert.

He’s Gunnar Pettersson, Swedish University of Agricultural Science. He used a power point presentation but I recorded him anyway and am providing an edited version of that talk.

In his talk he mentions how much dairy producers like these automatic systems like the DeLaval one in use on the farm today. The main reason is how it changes the lifestyle of the farmer. It gives him/her more time for things other than managing the animals.

Pettersson says he been on many, many farms studying the best management practices and he’s found and helped quantify what a robotic system can mean to the producer.

You can listen to Pettersson here: Gunnar Pettersson Presentation (14 min MP3)

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Automatic Milking In Norway

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 15, 2006Audio, International, Milk, Video

Today I got to visit a dairy operation which is pretty big business in Norway. We toured the Smestad farm. Pictured here are our hosts, Ole Kristian and Randi Skallerud.

The interesting part of the dairy is that they’re using an automatic milking system from DeLaval. So before we event went into the barn we learned more about robotic milking.

I interviewed Ole after we got into the barn. He milks 47 cows at this facility and says that the long cold winter is one of the challenges he faces. He also says that his farm has internet access and that Randi and his kids use it while he’s slowly learning how himself. They actually have wireless access which I found with my computer before leaving on the bus.

You can listen to my interview with Ole here: Ole Skallerud (6 min MP3)

I also have a little video clip of a cow in the robot getting milked: Robotic Milking Action (1 min WMV)

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Jarlsberg Celebrates 50 Years

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 14, 2006Audio, Cheese, International

At our opening night reception and dinner we heard from the CEO/President of Tine, the Norway dairy cooperative that makes Jarlsberg cheese. This year is the 50th year since they began making this great cheese.

I interviewed Hanne Refsholt prior to the reception and asked her to describe Tine and the dairy business in Norway. It sounds like dairy producers here have some of the same concerns as dairy producers in the United States.

Listen here to learn more about the dairy business in Norway: Hanne Refsholt Interview (6 min MP3)

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DeLaval Meeting Ag Journalists

Chuck ZimmermanAugust 13, 2006Agribusiness, Audio, International

One of the exhibitors here at the IFAJ Congress in Hamar, Norway is DeLaval.

DeLaval is represented by several people like Mr. DeLaval Norway, pictured here. However, I interviewed Barbara Strunk who works for DeLaval in Germany.

I asked Barbara about what they were featuring in their display here. One of the key things they’re focusing on is cow comfort and that’s just as true in the United States as anywhere else.

You can learn more about what message DeLaval has for journalists here: Barbara Strunk Interview (3 min MP3)

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