Milk Producer - May 2010 - (Page 4)

EDITOR’SNOTES By Bill Dimmick Packing star power Popularity of real ingredients on TV and among consumers can only bode well for milk ext time you’re filling your bulk tank, think of the food you produce as more than just top-quality milk. It could wind up starring, or at least playing a strong supporting role, in a popular television program as butter, cream or cheese. An admitted Food Network Canada addict, I squander several hours a month watching television shows that feature people standing in their kitchens making dinner. One night, as I watched the star of my favourite program—Michael Smith in a Chef at Home segment— toss yet another quarter-pound of butter into a sauce pan, it occurred to me our industry ought to be thankful for celebrity chefs like him. They tend not to cook with margarine. When they aren’t drizzling or gently sauteing with extra-virgin olive oil, they are drizzling or gently sauteing with real butter. While I have no way of measuring the impact Michael Smith and his colleagues have on Canadian consumer shopping habits, I can only conclude it has to be positive for dairy farmers. Intrigued by the notion of dairy products as television stars, I searched the recipes section of the Food Network Canada website. When I plugged “margarine” into the search engine, it turned up in 55 recipes. I was frankly surprised to find that many. No matter. Butter, featured in 5,470 recipes, outscored its spreadable rival by a 1,000-to-one margin. Butter scored number two in the recipe count of major 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 for two years and $63.00 for three years in N dairy ingredients. Cream rated tops as part of 4,780 recipes. Plain milk weighed in at 4,260, and cheese contributed to 3,950 different dishes. A certain segment of consumers is vitally interested in what goes on their forks. Meals cooked mostly from scratch with fresh ingredients whenever possible have become their normal routine. They reach for butter, cream, milk and cheese—along with the extra-virgin olive oil—when preparing these dishes. Further evidence real ingredients have gained in popularity has surfaced with growth in the market for butterfat in ice cream. The Dairy Farmers of Canada ice cream promotion launched last year is having a positive effect. And now, Canada’s favourite coffee shop, Tim Hortons, is partnering with Cold Stone Creamery to sell ice cream—real ice cream made with Canadian dairy ingredients. You can read more about this development on page 23. Celebrity chefs like ice cream, too. When I searched the Food Network Canada website, I found 413 recipes featuring my personal favourite frozen treat. Michael Smith alone contributed 17 of them. The foods our industry produces are much more than tasty, nutritious and healthful. They are packing true star power. 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: 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, 154 Jean Street, RR 5, Stratford Ontario N5A 6S6 Toll-free advertisers only: 1-888-460-6212 Phone (519) 393-5292 /Fax (519) 393-5293 E-mail: milkjim47@quadro.net 4 | May 2010 | MilkPRODUCER http://www.milk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milk Producer - May 2010

Milk Producer - May 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
DFO Chair's Message
Provincial Perspectives
Dairy Update
National Policy
Farm Finance
Retailers Spotlight
DFC Promotion
The Future Arrives
Farm Business
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'N" Noted
Back Forty

Milk Producer - May 2010