On May 8 and 9, the 2023 Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center (MDFRC) Spring meeting was held at South Dakota State University (SDSU). The Operational Advisory Committee (OAC), which includes dairy farmers industry members and land grant university faculty,   joined checkoff staff to meet in Brookings, South Dakota. The two-day meeting started with a pilot plant tour that allowed all attending to understand better what goes on behind the scenes of the SDSU dairy department. For example, attendees were given a tour of the facility and process of making ice cream at the South Dak ..read more

Sharing dairy’s wellness benefits and nutritional value is crucial when building trust. One of the ways Midwest Dairy is working to ensure that dairy’s sustainable nutrition story is reaching consumers is through partnerships with credible experts in the areas of health, wellness, and nutrition who can reinforce dairy’s message. Learn more about a few of our wellness partnerships below. The Elgin Area School District wellness fair Midwest Dairy partnered with the University of Illinois Extension and Rise & Shine Illinois, a Greater Chicago Food Depository program, to support the May Well ..read more

In April of 2023, Midwest Dairy partnered with Price Chopper Enterprises to reach their audience by promoting three different recipes: Vanilla French Toast with Honey Butter, Honey Whipped Ricotta and Strawberry Toast, and Spinach, Feta, and Sundried Tomato Chicken Wrap. All three recipes were developed by Ariel Johnston, RD of The Tasty Balance. This recipe collection can be found here. This digital and print recipe campaign overlapped Earth Day and promoted sustainability by using the “What You Do, Dairy Does Too” messaging.  Price Chopper distributed the recipes through email, F ..read more

Midwest Dairy partners with thought leaders who can positively showcase dairy in their professions and community. Through thought leaders, checkoff builds trust and credibility for dairy by consistently providing an already tuned-in audience with valuable, accurate information. For example, Midwest Dairy has successfully partnered with influential athletic thought leaders to become their resource for all things dairy as they share dairy’s story with their followers. See some of these successful partnerships below, from high school coaches to professional sports teams. St. Paul Saints Host Da ..read more

A picture is worth a thousand words, and on your farm, you have some amazing moments that can be caught on camera. Luckily, smartphones make capturing those moments much more accessible. If you want to use your smart to help tell your dairy story, sign up for Midwest Dairy’s smartphone photography training to elevate your picture-taking skills! Join us on June 22nd from 12-1 p.m. CST via Zoom as we discuss tips and tricks to capture photos on your smartphone with Hannah Dorn. Dorn is a farm and ranch photographer currently residing in Nebraska. Dorn will cover lighting, camera settings, stor ..read more

Midwest Dairy and Dierbergs Markets kicked off their 2023 partnership this spring with two dairy-focused campaigns.  At the end of March, Dierbergs worked with their group of exclusive brand ambassadors, including social influencers, to secure Caitlin Ladd to develop a recipe that promoted lactose-free milk. Ladd is a popular influencer whose content focuses on being a wife, raising kids, and crafting. She lives in Saint Louis and currently has over 6,000 followers. For this promotion, Ladd created a yummy brownie recipe and talked about the benefits of using the lactose-free milk ingre ..read more

June is just around the corner, which means it’s dairy’s time to shine as we celebrate National Dairy Month. Join your dairy farmer peers and Midwest Dairy in the celebration by sharing your farm’s story with family, friends, and the community! Midwest Dairy has various tools available to help you spill your dairy story on social media, beginning with World Milk Day on June 1st. We also have National Dairy Month badges you can incorporate into your personal social posts, a content calendar filled with creative ideas to help you celebrate on social media, recipes to share, and much more. Addi ..read more

Midwest Dairy is committed to providing educational resources and opportunities to connect youth with the dairy industry. We continue to work with farmers and partners to connect youth with where their food comes from through opportunities like Discover Dairy’s Adopt-A-Cow program. The Adopt-A-Cow program provides educators with a free, year-long agricultural experience for their classrooms where students learn about the cow (calf) and her life cycle—including photos, stories, and daily information. Many farm hosts from across our 10-state region participated and helped create trust in dairy t ..read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. –Dairy princesses from across the state gathered for the Dairy Promotion and Leadership Event held May 12-13 at the Delta Hotel in Minneapolis. The weekend included opportunities for networking, leadership workshops, and a chance to compete for a finalist spot for Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The event was themed “Building on the Best,” as contestants aimed to develop leadership skills and competencies for young women in dairy through different inspiring and educational sessions. “Each year this event brings new and familiar faces; it’s exciting to see all these young women w ..read more

Midwest Dairy works with thought leaders who can positively showcase dairy in their own professions and community. It’s important that we reach these specific individuals, like health professionals and social media influencers, at the right place, right time, and with the right messages to share with their already tuned-in audience. Midwest Dairy has successfully partnered with these influential thought leaders to become their resource for all things dairy as they share dairy’s story with their capitative audience. Research indicates that parents trust pediatricians and pediatric registered di ..read more