Dairy farm familiesof the Southeast

Dairy Promotion News

March 2015

January 27 marked the launch of the dairy industry’s #GetReal and #MilkTruth campaigns, which focused

on myth-busting and setting the record straight on dairy, from production practices to quality standards.

“With the spread of misinformation so rampant on the Internet, and the increase activity of the ‘badvocates’ – groups that want to stop all animal agriculture – we felt it was time to rally the industry,” said Cheryl Hayn, SUDIA’s general manager.

The advocacy campaigns focused on engaging consumers online, encouraging dairy farmers and enthusiasts to use social media networks to promote dairy and encouraged consumers to #GetReal and learn the #MilkTruth about dairy.

Within the first 24 hours of the campaign more than 21 million consumers saw messages about the dairy industry. While 95 percent of the conversations were positive or neutral, animal rights activists came out in full force to try and deconstruct the campaign.

“Overall I had a positive experience, although I had a couple of instances of animal rights people who were trying to derail my campaign,” said Alabama dairy farmer Will Gilmer, who posted frequently to his Twit-ter and Facebook accounts. “I essentially just ignored

them since I knew there was no point in engaging with those folks.”

The campaign made dairy’s voice heard in social and digital media, standing up for dairy in a conver-sation about milk alternatives and connecting with consumers who like dairy products but have questions about their production.

“In the future, we need to get the truth about dairy out there in a more aggressive way,” said Hayn. “I hope that dairy farmers and other advocates will continue using our online portal for content and spreading posi-tive messages about the dairy industry.”

Dairy farmers and advocates were able to register their social media accounts through an online portal to schedule postings, download graphics and find key information and resources about the dairy industry.

“It was set up to make it really easy to use, almost all of the postings I did were prescheduled through the application that they had,” Gilmer said. “If somebody wants to participate it is real simple to do so.”

For more information on how you can become involved in the #GetReal and #MilkTruth campaigns, visit www.milktruth.com/content or contact Anne Cain at acain@sedairy.org.

#GetReal about #MilkTruth: Dairy Industry Plays Offense

Left: Infographics, such as these, are available on the milktruth website. Above: SUDIA-region dairy farmers and dairy enthusiasts post information on social media throughout the day.

DAIRY Promotion News

SUDIA Assists Richmond City in Increasing School Breakfast ParticipationMore than 21 million students depend on free or

reduced lunch programs in the United States, with an increasing number of students participating in school breakfast programs. Many school districts, such as Richmond Public Schools in Richmond, Va., have imple-mented breakfast programs to better serve their students.

Since the beginning of the 2011 school year, Rich-mond Public Schools have been adding alternative breakfast models to provide students access to nutri-tious food for a better start to their day, creating the perfect opportunity for SUDIA’s breakfast programs to be involved and the perfect opportunity to grow milk, yogurt and cheese sales.

“Breakfast in the Classroom has provided all of our children at Broad Rock Elementary School the chance to start their day off with a health boost,” said Broad Rock Elementary School program advisor Jennifer Byers.

SUDIA has assisted school nutrition leaders and physical education teachers in six elementary schools with applying for Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP60) grants. All six schools were awarded a total of $18,854 in FUTP60 grants in November 2013.

“Many of the physical education teachers at our FUTP60 schools have stated that Breakfast in the Class-

room has reduced school tardiness and that instruction time in the morning was maximized,” said Richmond Public Schools instructional specialist Stefanie Ramsey. “That improvement, along with the activity breaks, have helped keep students focused and interested throughout the day on their academics.”

After implementing FUTP60’s Breakfast in the Classroom, breakfast participation at Francis Elementary School increased from 34 percent to 87 percent, with Pro-gram Advisors also seeing a reduction in the number of tardy students. District-wide, breakfast participation has increased 18 percent.

“Breakfast in the Classroom has really helped because the students are busy eating their breakfast while I take roll and go over our plans for the day,” said Joyce Otey, second grade teacher at Francis Elementary School. “It has really helped ensure all the students eat and helps them stay more focused.”

In addition to implementing new breakfast programs, Richmond Public School District has implemented a Community Eligibility Option, making all students eli-gible for free breakfast. For more information on the Fuel Up to Play 60 Breakfast in the Classroom program, con-tact Molly Szymanski at mszymanski@sedairy.org.

increase in breakfast participa-tion at Francis Elementary School

in Fuel Up to Play 60 grants awarded to Richmond City area

schools

Top: Students at Swansboro Elementary School enjoy cold milk at breakfast. Bottom: Students at Ginter Park Elementary School are visited by former Washington Redskin and Carolina Panther Everette Brown.

53%

$18,854

Agritourism is a great way to share your passion for dairy farming with visitors while boost-ing your farm’s income.

Morehouse School of Medicine student and as-piring orthodontist Jamal Fitts hands out samples of lactose-free milk.

As consumers continue to show more interest in the agricultural

industry and where their food comes from, allowing visitors onto the farm and telling dairy farming’s story has become important. By hosting tours of your dairy farm, visitors get a first-hand look at the care you give to your land and your animals.

Dairy farmers have great stories to tell about their families, opera-tions and communities, especially since many dairy farms have been operating for generations. Being transparent with visitors not only builds trust in you and your opera-tion, but also advocates for the entire dairy industry, making consumers more confident in purchasing milk, cheese and yogurt for their families.

For more information on SUDIA’s message tips, banners and other materials, contact Bob Midles, SUDIA director of industry relations, at bmidles@sedairy.org

Bringing Them In: Tips for Hosting Visitors on the Farm

Chef Marvin Woods Partners with SUDIA for Low-Lactose RecipesSUDIA team members joined over 300 attendees at the

Black Family Expo (BFE), which was held February 7 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. The BFE focused on educating African-American families on lifestyle tips, with seminars on finances, religion, parenting and cooking.

Emmy-nominated television personality and award-winning chef Marvin Woods partnered with SUDIA for a cooking demonstration that featured two low-lactose reci-pes. Additionally, four students from Morehouse School of Medicine helped distribute samples of lactose-free milk.

“We were able to answer questions and educate attend-ees how they can incorporate low-lactose dairy products into their diets,” said SUDIA senior manager of public relations Lanier Dabuzzi.

The event was part of SUDIA’s partnership with KISS 104.1 FM, which is an urban radio station in Atlanta. Throughout February, three commercials played on the radio station about lactose-intolerance. One commercial is narrated by notable radio personality Sasha the Diva, who talks about her lactose-intolerance and ways she keeps dairy in her diet.

February is National Lactose Intolerance Awareness Month, dedicated to educating individuals about a condi-tion that is often misunderstood. Educational materials, research, presentations and recipes can be found on SUDIA’s website: southeastdairy.org.

Tips for a Successful Farm Tour• Know your audience. Before host-

ing groups, ask a few questions. What are they most interested in learning? What are their primary concerns? What is the one thing they want to know about dairy farming? Knowing questions before hand can help you prepare for the group and provide a better experience for both you and your visitors.

• Keep language simple. When dis-cussing your farm, don’t use industry jargon or acronyms that visitors may not understand. Keep your language simple, and try and use comparisons visitors can relate to.

• Keep calm and tour on. When hosting a group of visitors, there is always the opportunity to get asked some tough questions about farming practices, sustainability, animal care and the envi-ronment. Continuously remind visitors about how you care about your animals and the land, and stay calm when answer-ing challenging questions.

Chef Marvin Woods (left) talks with Sasha the Diva about incorporating dairy products into a low-lactose diet.

When ordering materials, please

allow 2 weeks for delivery.

Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, Inc.5340 West Fayetteville RoadAtlanta, GA 30349-5416

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Milk is one of the most requested items at food banks, but is also

one of the food items donated the least. In honor of Hunger Action Month in September, and to increase awareness about the importance of donating milk, the dairy industry partnered with Feeding America for the Great American Milk Drive to encourage consumers to donate fluid milk to food banks across the country. The event was repeated in December to motivate consumers to donate milk to food banks during the holiday season.

SUDIA participated in the Great American Milk Drive by partnering with Kroger stores across the south-east. This is important because more than 9.5 million people, or approxi-mately 17 percent of the southeastern population, have limited access to enough food.

While shopping at Kroger, shop-pers were able to purchase milk

vouchers and donate $1, $3 or $5 to the Great American Milk Drive. These Pour It Forward vouchers were then converted to gallons of milk and donated to local food banks.

Pour It Forward coupons were collected throughout the SUDIA region, providing food banks with the opportunity to distribute milk through the holiday season. To date, more than 46,000 gallons of milk have been donated throughout SUDIA’s nine southeastern states. Partly through the efforts of SUDIA staff, Georgia won a region-wide donation contest, collecting over 20,000 gallons of milk during Sep-tember, and winning an additional 5,000 gallon donation to help feed the hungry families of Georgia.

To find out more about the Great American Milk Drive and how you can participate, visit http://milklife.com/give.

Kroger Teams Up with The Great American Milk Drive

www.southeastdairy.orgwww.dedicatedtodairy.com