Time Out To Golf

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

Just in time for all you golfing dairy folks who are in or heading to Wisconsin for the World Dairy Expo, is a story on CNN.com today about how great the golf is! The beginning of the story says,“Someone says, “Wisconsin.” What thoughts immediately come to mind? The Green Bay Packers? Dairy products? A TV show? (“Happy Days” for the middle-age crowd; “That ’70s Show” for the younger generation).

I got to play earlier this year near Milwaukee while attending a conference on ag media. Now this story’s got me wondering what my schedule will be like next week!

MyPyramid For Kids Includes Dairy

Chuck ZimmermanGovernment

USDA MyPyramid for KidsI don’t know if you’re even familiar with USDA’s MyPyramid, the new food guidelines strategy. Today they released news about a whole section of the guidelines targeting kids and including a video game they can play.

The information certainly does include information about “dairy” and it’ll be interesting to see how organizations start to fit this into their marketing strategies with consumers.

Here’s an example of one way they’ve included dairy. It’s on a page that has “Tips For Families.”

4. Get your calcium-rich foods. To build strong bones serve lowfat and fat-free milk and other milk products several times a day.

Dairy News Sites

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

How many places do you go online for dairy news? I’d be interested to know some of your favorites. I’m starting to learn about more of them and I’ll plan to post links to them from time to time. Just so you know I’m not playing favorites (yet), I’ll start with a few now and post more when time allows.

Agri-View
Brownfield Network (audio report)
DairyLine

More will be posted!!

Seeking Dairy Leader In China

Chuck ZimmermanInternational

It sounds like dairies in China are getting more organized. In a story I found today on China Daily, the Mengniu Dairy is looking for a president by doing an international search. Interested? If so the story says you’ll need to have “at least two of the following requirements: a master’s degree, 15-years work experience in the dairy industry, or a good understanding of the international market.” The deadline to apply is October 31. Apparently it’s very unusual for a China company like this to actively seek out a foreign person as it’s leader.

The story says the company has the goal of becoming one of the top 20 dairy companies in the world by the year 2010.

Expo Dates To 2016

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

It’s getting closer to showtime but it’s never too early to start thinking about next year, and the year after that, and . . . the dates are already set way out to 2016! How many of you plan that far out? Me, I’m just looking forward to packing for a week in Madison. I just found out about where I’ll be set up. I’m going to have my own little office with my own high speed internet access line and we’ll see how much information I can bring you during the coming several weeks.

How many of you use Google or Yahoo? Sometimes it’s interesting to see what comes up when you search for yourself. I just searched for “World Dairy Diary” and Google came up with 667 returns and Yahoo with 1,870. A few months ago there were none. I promise there will be a lot more by the end of the show!

Future Dates
2006, October 3-7
2007, October 2-6
2008, September 30-October 4
2009, September 29-October 3
2010, September 28-October 2
2011, October 4-8
2012, October 2-6
2013, October 1-5
2014, September 30-October 4
2015, September 29-October 3
2016, October 4-8

Holstein Association Members of the Day

Chuck ZimmermanHolstein Association

ButtlesLynnette and Andy Buttles are the 2004 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders and the first Holstein Association 2005 World Dairy Expo, “Members of the day.” You can read all about them on the Holstein Association website and meet them in person at the Association booth at Expo.

You can learn more about Holstein Association USA by listening to my interview with Lisa Perrin, Communications Manager. Lisa talks about the organization and what visitors will find when they visit at their booth at Expo.

You can listen to my interview with Lisa here: Download MP3 File (2.6MB MP3 File)

What Do You Want To See?

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

It’s the week before World Dairy Expo! Pretty soon thousands of people will be flocking to Madison to see the greatest dairy show in the world. I’ll be one of them and like many of you it will be my first trip. I’m hoping that I can be your eyes and ears over the next couple weeks as the show unfolds.

Some of the things you can look forward to will be lots of pictures and posts about the activities taking place each day. I’ll also be conducting interviews and providing other audio as it becomes available.

Please feel free to comment on what you see here or email me if you’ve got questions or ideas. What do you want to see on World Dairy Diary? I’ll try my best to get it for you.

Meet The Marketing Manager

Chuck ZimmermanWorld Dairy Expo

Chuck & Lisa BehnkeHave you ever wondered how information about the World Dairy Expo gets out to the public? It’s all the work of Lisa Behnke, Marketing Manager (pictured to the right of yours truly). She’s hard at work now getting ready for all the media representatives who will be covering Expo. Of course she also does other things and I think you’ll be able to tell from my interview with her that she’s proud of World Dairy Expo and committed to making it even better.

You can listen to my interview with Lisa here: Download MP3 File (MP3 File 5MB)

New Holstein Association Classifiers

Chuck ZimmermanHolstein Association

Holstein Association USAThere are some new classifiers at the Holstein Association.

Holstein Association USA, Inc. welcomes two new employees to their Classification team.

Jim Meyer, Peotone, Ill., has a bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science from the University of Illinois.
Brian Kelroy is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science.

“We are delighted to add classification staff with the background and ability that Jim and Brian bring to the team,” said Dan Meihak, Holstein Association USA, Inc. Executive Director, Herd Advancement Services.

Shop Till You Drop At The Purple Cow

Chuck ZimmermanWorld Dairy Expo

Purple Cow Gift ShopDid I mention that there’s a gift shop at World Dairy Expo? Yep. So bring your shopping list.

The Purple Cow Gift Shop, World Dairy Expo’s one-and-only official gift shop, is seasonal and only open during the show. During the week of the show you’ll be able to shop and browse from the largest selection of cow related items that you’ll ever find. Whether shopping for yourself or the hard-to-buy for person on your gift list, the Purple Cow Gift Shop is sure to have something for all cow lovers from infants to grandparents. Also available only at the Purple Cow are the 2005 collector pins, milk bottles, mugs and hats.

Located on the north end of the Exhibition Hall lobby, the Purple Cow will be open from 9:00am – 6:00pm.