Midwest Dairy partners with Ag Coalitions across the 10-state region to connect with consumers through a trusted voice. These coalitions celebrate farm families and help consumers find the information and experiences they need to make informed food choices for their own families. Midwest Dairy had successful partnerships with many of these groups throughout 2023.
Illinois Farm Families
Midwest Dairy partnered with the Illinois Farm Families (IFF) coalition throughout 2023 on many different initiatives. Notably, the Influence Farm Fest Campaign, We Are the 69 Super Bowl premiere, and Casey’s promotion, the We Are the 69 campaign, were standouts. During the Influencer Farm Fest campaign, five Chicago-based social media influencers visited Lenkaitis Holsteins dairy farm to get an on-farm experience. While on the farm, the group shared over 90 different social media posts and stories, allowing their followers to see their experience. The IFF also partnered with Casey’s to promote the We are the 96 campaign during the fall of 2023. Fliers featuring the “We are the 96” message – that 96 percent of Illinois farms are family-owned and operated – were distributed to the more than 500 Casey’s stores in Illinois. One of the ten featured Illinois farm families was the Leanne Casner family of Clavin Dairy Farm, located in South Central Illinois. This campaign aimed to showcase local families and the farmers’ love for their jobs and lifestyles. Midwest Dairy supported this campaign by helping to connect them with the dairy farmer featured and amplifying their efforts to help raise awareness.
Iowa Food and Family Project
As an Iowa Food and Family Project partner, Midwest Dairy was invited to participate in a National Agriculture Week celebration during an Iowa Wolves G-league NBA game. Midwest Dairy ambassadors attended the game, engaging fans with a dairy trivia spin wheel and handing out cow hats and recipe/coloring books to young fans. In addition to fan engagement, a dairy nutrition sustainability video was showcased before the game, and dairy trivia questions were shared during game breaks. Iowa agriculture was highlighted throughout the game across the high-energy Wells Fargo Arena!
Kansas Farm Food Connection
Working with the Kansas Farm Food Connection (KFFC) has yielded positive results as checkoff saw significant traffic to its online platforms, which frequently feature dairy content. In 2023, a top-viewed article on the KFFC website explained the difference between beef and dairy cattle. The profile about Heim Dairy, located in Easton, Kansas, is also a top-rated story on the website. The group further allocated resources to paid search ads and email marketing to reach people interested in recipes and seasonal article topics. This effort included an article with video instructions for three easy air fryer recipes featuring different dairy products. Research informed KFFC that air fryer recipes aligned with Generation Z consumers looking for easy meal ideas.
Missouri Farmers Care
In 2023, agriculture was front and center on Friday nights at Busch Stadium, home of the MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals, thanks to Missouri Farmers Care (MFC). Because of this partnership, dairy and other commodity groups were showcased to baseball fans all season long. One game stood out to fans the most in early June as we celebrated Dairy Night at the stadium with 43,238 fans in attendance.
To kick off the night, 30 volunteers, including 15 dairy farmers, engaged in conversations at the MFC booth experience at Ford Plaza. Dairy Night was interactive for fans, offering free digital photo souvenirs, tic-tac-toe trivia with prizes, a photo with cow mascot Sweet Bessie, farm visits with virtual reality goggles, and a Total Mixed Ration display explaining what cows eat. Before the game, the Cardinals debuted a farm video with dairy farmer Alfred Brandt and St. Louis Cardinal mascot Fred Bird. Friday games also feature “Race to the Plate,” when “Farm Team” mascots, including Sweet Bessie, were cheered on as they raced the bases. The MFC and Cardinals partnership also reached consumers through 30-second radio ads, GameDay Magazine print ads, Cardinals scoresheet ad, and a growth poster giveaway for 10,000 youth.