South Dakota
As the summer months wrap up, Dairy checkoff has been well-represented at many of South Dakota’s fairs and agriculture celebrations. South Dakota’s Dairy Ambassadors, interns, and staff were present at the Turner County Fair, Brown County Fair, Sioux Empire Fair, and the South Dakota State Fair.
Fairgoers learned about dairy farming and dairy products through a number of dairy-focused activities, such as an Undeniably Dairy scavenger hunt with over 1,000 participants and a Plinko game featuring dairy question and answer. The Dairy Ambassadors and Intern also assisted at many of the fair’s dairy shows through ribbon and award presentations.
South Dakota Dairy Ambassadors also amplified these experiences with great posts on their South Dakota Dairy Ambassador Facebook page.
Nebraska
Midwest Dairy worked to create dairy advocates during the 2023 Nebraska’s Ag and Economic Development Summit held in early August in Kearney, Nebraska. As a kickoff to the summit, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture organized the Ag Tour at Wood River Dairy near Miller, Nebraska.
More than two dozen state and local agricultural and economic development leaders took part in the afternoon to hear Dairy Manager Travis Mouw share dairy’s sustainability story and build dairy advocacy among these leaders. Before arriving at the dairy farm, the chartered bus stopped at Midwest Dairy’s partner, Runza, to enjoy delicious ice cream desserts. As these leaders enjoyed their dairy treats, Midwest Dairy staff shared how the recent partnership with Runza and other retail and foodservice partners in Nebraska are making a difference in increasing dairy sales.
In addition to the Ag Tour, Midwest Dairy was represented at the invitation-only Governor’s Ag Leaders Roundtable. Mary Temme, Nebraska Division Board Chair, attended and provided input about dairy checkoff. Temme and Joyce Racicky, Division Board Vice Chair, represented the dairy checkoff and participated in the two-day event.