Count the logos (including this ad) for your chance to win butter or cheese! See page 6 of the second section for details.
DAIRY ST R “All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 8
Wisconsin cheese wins major markeƟng award DFW creates ultimate consumer experience By Stacey Smart Contributing Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin cheese not only tastes great, its marketing is top-notch, too. The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin won a Gold REGGIE award for superior brand marketing in the small budget category at the Association of National Advertisers conference May 16 in Orlando, Fla. The REGGIEs are the industry’s premier award, recognizing the nation’s best marketing campaigns. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s winning campaign was the World’s Longest Cheeseboard Experience which debuted at the 2018 South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. A prime venue for brands to launch new ideas, SXSW is the world’s largest interactive technical and musical conference, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to its doorstep. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin chose to target consumers with a cheese-lled exhibit containing over 3,000 pounds of Wisconsin specialty cheese, ranging from blue-veined cheddars and aromatic limburger to hand-rubbed wheels and fresh, squeaky curds. “People went bonkers for the cheese,” said Suzanne Fanning, chief marketing ofcer for the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese brand and senior vice president of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “We always had a line outside, and people said they would wait in that line as long as it took, even if it meant missing conference sessions for the opportunity to try some delicious Wisconsin cheese. In fact, it was the rst time in the event’s history that they had to call security to manage a lounge line.” At the center of the World’s Longest Cheeseboard Experience was a 70-foot long cheeseboard housed inside a barn built using Turn to AWARD | Page 5
June 8, 2019
Educating the consumer
Kessenich Dairy to host MooDay Brunch By Stacey Smart Contributing Writer
ARLINGTON, Wis. – June Dairy Month is here, and, all over Wisconsin, breakfasts are being served up to honor the dairy industry and close the gap between rural and urban through on-farm education. Columbia County does it differently, serving brunch instead of breakfast. The county’s 42nd annual Moo-Day Brunch will take place Saturday, June 15 at Kessenich Dairy in Arlington, Wis. Planners are expecting a crowd of nearly 2,000 people, who will enjoy a dairy brunch consisting of Pizza Hut pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, yogurt, cheese and Sassy Cow milk and ice cream sundaes. But, the Moo-Day Brunch is about more than having a good meal. Fun activities for all ages await, including farm tours, horse-drawn wagon rides, music, kids games, a
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Dan Kessenich pets one of the cows at Kessenich Dairy in Arlington, Wis. Dan and his family look forward to educaƟng the public about dairy farming during the Moo-Day Brunch Saturday, June 15 at their farm. petting zoo, balloon artists, antique tractors, specialty cheese sampling and more. The hosts of this year’s event are Dan and Pam Kes-
senich, who farm with their two sons, Brandon and Dylan, as well as Dan’s 85-year-old father, Byron. Dan takes care of feeding, including feeding
calves on the afternoon and evening shift, while Pam feeds calves in the morning as well Turn to KESSENICH | Page 6
Signs of the times Neugebauer creates checkout lane signage with dairy message By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
A sign at the checkout counter reminds customers to purchase milk at a supermarket in Madison, S.D. The sign was designed by dairy farmer Jim Neugebauer, who milks 60 cows with his family near Dimock, S.D.
DIMOCK, S.D. – Like many farmers, when dairyman Jim Neugebauer sees a problem he does not wait around for a solution to present itself. It is more likely he will simply roll up his sleeves and tackle the problem himself. Neugebauer, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, and his family milk 60 cows on their farm located near Dimock, S.D. They operate about 500 acres planted to corn, alfalfa and soybeans. Neugebauer and his son, Ben, also custom baleage for neighborhood farmers. The problem that caught Neugebauer’s eye some years ago were the checkout lane signs at his local supermarket. “The checkout lane signs were old Jim Neugebauer and dingy and were promoting cigarettes,” Dairy farmer Neugebauer said. “I thought that we could Turn to SIGN | Page 7