The Milk Producer - November 2009 - (Page 4)

EDITOR’SNOTES By Bill Dimmick A bovine love affair Consumer love of cows may position you and your girls as the industry’s best salespeople ou and your family most certainly appreciate the girls in the barn. After all, your livelihood depends on the milk they produce every day. I’m not sure why, but the consumers who enjoy the dairy products processed from their milk appear to greatly appreciate them, too. A few years back in Halifax, I visited an ice cream shop called Cows, part of a successful business based in Prince Edward Island. The ice cream, at 16 per cent butterfat, was nothing short of amazing. However, a high-quality product is just part of the Cows’ success story. It also sells a vast array of cow merchandise from gift bags to clothing. You can even order online through the company website. The entrepreneurs behind Cows have obviously been on to something for some years. If you type cow merchandise into Google, the Internet search engine, you’ll get 1.36 million hits. This number suggests to me a lot of folks around the world are selling cow merchandise, and even more are buying it. I performed another Google search in a quest to find out why people love cows so much. The result was overwhelming—16.3 million hits. I found several reasons for this ongoing love affair between consumers and cows. Among the top ones is that cows are cute. In no particular order of importance, consumers also think cows are adorable, possess magical qualities and have beautiful, trusting eyes. I got more direct anecdotal evidence about consumers loving cows a few weeks ago. Dairy Farmers of Ontario THE MILK PRODUCER is published monthly by Dairy Farmers of Ontario 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5N 2L8 EDITOR: Bill Dimmick ASSISTANT EDITOR: Sharon Laidlaw Co-ordinated by Communications and Planning Division, Bill Mitchell, Assistant Director. Change of address notices should be sent to: THE MILK PRODUCER 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 2L8. Subscription rates: $25.20 for one year, $46.20 Y and Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) arranged to have cows make an appearance at the Royal Ontario Museum in downtown Toronto. They were part of a media event that called attention to real ice cream made with Canadian milk and dairy ingredients, and helped educate consumers about the difference between the real deal and those frozen desserts. As consumers walked down Bloor Street, I watched them do a double-take, slow down and eye the eleven black-and-white girls posing on the sidewalk in front of the museum. Many pulled out their digital cameras to record the event. I overheard several people pleading with friends or family members to “take a picture of me with the cows.” Several dignitaries and politicians also showed up to lend their support to the event. One former member of Ontario’s legislature approached me, looked at my camera and asked almost shyly if I would photograph her with one of the cows. I obliged. It later occurred to me I could have probably done a thriving business that morning by offering to photograph people posing with a cow for a nominal fee. In thinking about why people love cows, I recalled reporting on opinion surveys done for DFC. The surveys found the Canadian public widely supports dairy farmers, and believe you take good care of your cows. You and your girls, as it turns out, could be the best salespeople in our industry. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policies of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by The Milk Producer or Dairy Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised. The Milk Producer welcomes letters to the editor about magazine content. Phone: (905) 821-8970 Fax: (905) 821-3160 bdimmick@milk.org slaidlaw@milk.org Website: Go to publications at www.milk.org E-mail: for two years and $63.00 for three years in Canada (includes GST), $36 per year in the U.S., $36 per year overseas. Single copy: $2.50. Make cheques payable to Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Canada Post Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40063866. Return postage guaranteed. Circulation: 10,000. ISSN 0030-3038. Printed in Canada. NATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER James Fitzgerald, 257 Huntingdon Avenue, Stratford, Ontario N5A 6P7. Toll-free advertisers only: 1-888-460-6212 Phone (519) 273-9369/Fax (519) 273-9289 E-mail: jfitzger@milk.org 4 | November 2009 | MilkPRODUCER http://www.milk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - November 2009

The Milk Producer - November 2009
Contents
Editor's Notes
DFO Chair's Message
Dairy Update
National Policy
Farm Finance
DFC Promotion
CQM On Its Way
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'N' Noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - November 2009