
Dairy’s Balancing Act
Milk production fizzles, ice cream sales soar in summer heat.
Farmers across the Midwest
reportedly have been using everything this summer from electric fans to
cold showers to keep their livestock from wilting in the oppressive heat,
which is blamed for killing at least 1,200 head of cattle in Nebraska
alone.
Production is slumping as a result. In fact, dairy
farmers near the Ohio-Michigan state line have reported losing
approximately $350 daily because cows are making about 10 pounds less milk
per day, not to mention the extra cost of running more fans in the barns
and providing more water.
According to the USDA-AMS Dairy Market News June
report, recent hot and humid weather throughout the nation is impeding milk
production. Northern sections of the country are being affected to a lesser
extent than southern areas, especially as cooler temperatures resume in the
North. Reduced milk volumes from the farm are being compensated by
increased milk volumes available from school closures. Promotional efforts
in the Midwest are not enhancing Class I sales, resulting in burdensome
milk volumes trading at a discount in the region; Class II interest in
fluid milk is seasonally increasing. Heavier production of ice cream and
bottled cream for strawberry season is noted. As a result, cream supplies
are tightening and multiples are higher.
On the brighter side, Reuters reports sizzling summer
temperatures across the United States have sent flocks of consumers to
their local ice cream parlors, driving up sales of frozen treats from sunny
California to the muggy East Coast. Ice cream shop chains like
Baskin-Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery, Carvel, Ben & Jerry’s and
Häagen-Dazs have reported soaring sales in recent weeks, while sales
at independent ice cream parlors also are booming.
Image makers
Product and promotion news
When Tillamook Cheese and McCormick &
Schmick’s restaurants put out a call for unique homemade macaroni and
cheese recipes earlier this year, it was anyone’s guess at how varied
the recipes would be. Now the results are in, and the answer is that
macaroni and cheese dishes can be very different from one another, with
regional differences apparent as well. Hundreds of recipes were submitted
for the 2005 Macaroni & Cheese Recipe Contest, featuring ingredients
ranging from crab and bacon to jalapeño peppers and apples.
Finalists were selected in each region based on taste and creativity of
their dishes, and competed in a cook-off in front of a judging panel of
local culinary experts. During May and June, cook-off events were held in
San Jose, Calif.; Denver; Dallas; and Phoenix. Entries in Northern
California focused heavily on shrimp, crab and other seafood, with a fresh
and natural flair. The winning recipe in San Jose was Priscilla Yee’s
“Kicked-Up Monterey Mac & Cheese,” featuring bay shrimp. In
Denver, bacon, sausage and other meats were a common ingredient in many
recipe submissions, but in the end the winner was Ann Jones for her
“Cheesy Pasta & Lobster Bake Mac & Cheese.” The trend
in Dallas was the use of unique spices and flavorings in otherwise fairly
traditional macaroni and cheese recipes, with Brenden Mesch as the winner
for his “Penne Rigate with Truffle Essence Macaroni &
Cheese” recipe. Many Phoenix recipes had a spicy Southwest flair, as
might be expected; Cheryl Hart with her “Ultimate Comfort Food Mac
& Cheese” recipe was the winner there. For more information about
the contest or copies of recipes from finalists and winners in each market,
visit www.tillamookcontest.com.
Golden Guernsey Dairy has joined Milwaukee Recreation
and several anti-hunger agencies to support Fueling Young Minds, a
collaborative effort that provides free summer meals for Milwaukee’s
youth. For no charge, the dairy cooperative will print the following
message on every half-pint chocolate milk carton distributed in Milwaukee
County from May through August: “Free Summer Meals for
Milwaukee’s Youth: For the location nearest you, call 211 or (866)
211-3380.” The message will appear on 1.25 million cartons, with an
estimated advertising value of $40,000. The Fueling Young Minds
collaborative includes Milwaukee Recreation, the Milwaukee Public Schools
Office of School Nutrition, Harley-Davidson Foundation, Hunger Task Force,
IMPACT Inc., The Salvation Army and Social Development Commission. The
partnership recently received a Milwaukee Award for Neighborhood
Development Innovation (MANDI) for serving more than 382,000 meals to
at-risk youth in the summer of 2004. The GG Golden Guernsey Dairy®
brand is an integral part of Foremost Farms USA, a Wisconsin cooperative
owned by 3,600 dairy farmers.
Kate’s Homemade Butter, Old Orchard Beach,
Maine, has released a new package design for its premium butters. The new
design emphasizes the company’s homemade quality and enhances product
presence on the store shelf. More product information highlighting
Kate’s Maine heritage, improved identification and the addition of
measuring marks on the box are just a few design enhancements found on the
new packaging. The company says the new four-color design reinforces the
brand identity of its trademark —the adorable young Kate sporting a
red kerchief, broad smile and overalls. The company uses pasteurized cream
from New England dairy farms that pledge not to use artificial growth
hormones. Kate’s butter does not contain artificial colors,
preservatives or other additives.
Oakhurst Dairy, Portland, Maine, continues to honor
Maine Army Reserve veterans returning from Iraq with “welcome
home” messages printed on the company’s gallon-sized milk
labels. Sgt. James Jollotta and Scott Caron, who are with the Maine Army
National Guard’s 133rd Battalion, returned in March from their year-long hitch in
Mosul, Iraq. “My family and extended family of staff, employees and
farmers are very happy that so many of the 133rd have returned home. And we’re so proud of and
thankful for their service to our country,” says Stanley Bennett,
president of Oakhurst Dairy. “Sharing our joy at their return by
announcing it on our gallons of milk is just one small way we can express
our pride and gratitude.”
The labels — which proudly display an American
flag and say “Welcome Home! Sgt. James Jollotta, E4 Scott Caron Maine
Army Reserve 133rd BN” — appear next to the nutrition information panel
on gallons of Oakhurst Whole, 2%, 1 1/2%, 1% and Skim Milk. The
specially labeled milk is distributed throughout New England.
Montpelier, Vt.-based Cabot Creamery Cooperative has
rolled out new labels for its cheese. The company says the new labels are
meant to make the type of cheese, Cabot name and certifications such as
kosher and lactose-free more easily identifiable. Also, the changeover to
the new labels is considered a “soft conversion,” meaning old
labels will be used up before all new labels appear. The changes, says
Cabot, are meant to be subtle.
In June, US Club Soccer reached an agreement with Bravo
Foods International Corp. for the North Palm Beach, Fla.-based
company’s Slammers® brand of flavored milk beverages to become the Official
Milk of US Club Soccer. Samples of the company’s Slammers products
— including Slammers Starburst® Smoothies, Slammers Milky Way® reduced-fat chocolate milk and Slammers 3 Musketeers® lowfat
chocolate milk — were distributed at certain US Club Soccer events.
Other terms of the agreement included the displaying of Slammers Ultimate
Milk signage and banners at US Club Soccer events, promotion of Slammers
Ultimate Milk on US Club Soccer’s Web site and the inclusion of
Slammers Ultimate Milk in US Club Soccer’s monthly email newsletter.
In other promotional news, the company announced in July the launch of a
new promotional program with Cagnazzi Racing. Consistent with the
company’s recent national roll out of its Slammers milk drinks, Bravo
Foods and Cagnazzi Racing agreed that the Slammers brand of flavored milk
beverages would be the primary sponsor of Cagnazzi Racing’s Chevrolet
Cobalt Pro Stock racecar, driven by fan favorite Erica Enders. The
“Slammers Cobalt” debuted in Denver at the Mile-High Nationals
July 15 to 17.
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