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| I didn't even get to watch the super bowl, as I was putting a loader tractor back together. But we must promote our product, from the dairy producer to the processor to the supermarket owner. We should all have a hand in the promotion of the product. If there is someway promotion dollars could be proportioned out for the cost of production or value added to product in relation to your share of the profit of the product so it was more fair for the dairy producer in relationship to his costs. The middleman in my mind should have a bigger share of the cost of advertising. I don't know all the workings of the dairy promotion board, I know all the information is there for me to research if I wanted to find out. I've always told beef producers we should promote beef the same as dairy does. I feel all the money I spend for dairy and beef on my end is well worth it.
About ten years ago I pushed to get a milk dispensing machine in the high school lunch room. It was totally funded by my milk processor to sell their product. It is UTH self stable milk in flavors. It went over big, it even drove pop sales down. The Coke and Pepsi people weren't happy. Even my sister-in-law complained to me, about how after putting the machine in the school got her daughter to drinking only the UTH milk. So she was forced to buy it for her daughter ( the cost is a little higher for UTH milk than regular bottled milk ). All proceeds of sales went back to the student body funds, and milk processor sold milk at a reduced rate to the school.
If you want to see something come and go to a Idaho High School athletic sporting event,state competitions. The Idaho dairymen support them and give free milk out. Boy it is nice to see everybody drinking free milk. You see kids, adults packing two and three bottles of milk around all the time. Chocolate milk, is the number one I think over regular milk. In turn all dairy farmers family get in free to the state competitions. You never knew you had so many relatives, until state competitions!
The problem with checkoff dollars is when the practice is put into place the cost for promotion are set, but as time goes on those cost go up, ie. cost of TV ad time, printing cost, media etc. So your dollars don't go as far, there is more cost involved, and who then is burdened with the increase?
You could spend a lot of time dissecting the Beef checkoff dollars, here in Idaho every time an animal changes hands we pay beef checkoff dollars on that animal so by the time that animal hits the packing plant it was paid on maybe 3-4 times. That's a whole other thread to start discussion on, and it would inflame a lot of people.
Bottom line is, we need to keep promoting products and everybody needs a hand in it. Here's a little food for thought, lets put all advertising money in an agriculture products fund so veggie producers help fund cattle sales, everybody get a even cut of the pie. Wouldn't that stir up the Vegetarians!
I better get off here I'm liable to get hung talking like this. Hope everybody has a great day. | |
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Dairy Producers, Do you think Super Bowel ad was a good use of check off dollars??
