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Midwest Dairy keeps aim on consumers

The new chair of the Midwest Dairy Association (MDA) board of directors says communicating with consumers remains a top priority.

South Dakota dairy farmer Allen Merrill tells Brownfield social media is a big part of that.

“But the thing that we’re wondering about (is) what’s out there in three to five years?  Is it just what we have today, or what changes will be coming?  And, how do we reach a majority (of consumers)?  We know we can’t reach everybody, but let’s reach a majority and communicate the nutritional value of what dairy products bring to the table.”

He says dairy would like to capitalize on the burgeoning consumer interest in food production and nutrition.

“We’ve got to help them understand how they can consume it.  They probably don’t want to consume the same product that they did 20 years ago.  So we’ve got to be able to do some research and innovation, working together with both of those ideas and try to bring that nutritional value to our consumers.”

Merrill, previously first vice chairman, was elected to replace Jerry Messer of North Dakota.

Messer was MDA board chair for nine years before stepping down earlier this year.