Checkoff Annual Report

A LETTER FROM CHAD VINCENT, CEO, DAIRY FARMERS OF WISCONSIN (DFW)

Thank you for taking time to read this.  One of the most difficult challenges I've run across in my career is this – how do we communicate the value of your checkoff investment to you, the state's dairy farm families? Too many dairy farmers I speak with have a limited understanding of dairy checkoff/promotion. Checkoff's mission is to grow demand for your milk by building new markets and encouraging consumer trust in your products.

WE EXIST FOR THE STATE'S DAIRY FARM FAMILIES. There's no shortage of things DFW can do to further dairy in Wisconsin, building markets and growing trust. In Wisconsin we eat our milk, and the 90/90 rule drives a lot of what we do. 90% of your milk is made into cheese and 90% of that cheese is sold outside the state and country.

By building markets and continuing to grow demand and uses for your milk, our signature product, Wisconsin Cheese, must continue to grow. 

That said, we must focus and make hard choices every day on which programs to run, and areas of dairy marketing and sales to pursue. Together with our board of directors (elected by you, from your district) we have four main areas that we leverage:

1. WISCONSIN CHEESE PERCEPTIONS AND AWARENESS: Wisconsin makes the best cheese on the planet. We win more awards, have more processing plants, and are growing faster than anywhere else. Awareness, demand and perceptions of Wisconsin Cheese is growing and improving – across the country and around the world.  People know about our product quality and our innovation (600 varieties and styles of cheese!), the fact that we have Master Cheesemakers who convert the best milk on the planet into incredible cheese, and amazing heritage all help drive interest and sales of our cheese. And with 10 pounds of milk needed to make a pound of cheese…this is vital to our milk usage here. Other states dream of having the infrastructure and brand that Wisconsin has.


2. INCREASE SALES AND DISTRIBUTION OF WISCONSIN CHEESE: It's one thing to make great cheese. Selling it is just as important. DFW partners with the nation's grocery stores, restaurant chains and the processors that turn your milk into cheese. Through these partnerships, DFW works to create nationwide promotions that sell millions of pounds of cheese. We regularly have promotions running in 5,000 grocery stores at a time. You can find Wisconsin Cheese in 99% of America's grocery stores and also now in 140 countries. Growth in cheese sales is vital to drive potential growth opportunities for your milk.


3. THE WORLD IS CHANGING FAST, AND WITH CONSUMERS TRUST in Wisconsin dairy products, our farmers and their sustainability practices is an increasingly significant element of purchase consideration. We know that you treat the land, water, air and cows with respect and care. Conservation—of the land you farm and water you protect and all the sustainability efforts to keep your families farming—is of utmost importance and stimulates stories consumers want to and need to hear. We are working with farmers across the state to tell their sustainability efforts and goals to consumers and officials locally and around the globe.


4. WE UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE that we and you cannot do this all on our own. We believe in being a strong and reliable partner to get more done for you and utilize the amazing expertise and infrastructure that this state has to offer. We support The UW Center for Dairy Research—the best dairy research facility around—as well as work with co-ops, processors, milk haulers, state and local officials and numerous groups that all join together to keep our industry moving forward.

I hope you take a minute to review this annual report and additional areas of the website to see 
more of the specific programs we oversee to drive markets and trust for you. We are proud   
to be earning nationwide recognition for our marketing efforts as measured against the 
best marketing companies in the country.   

Reach out to me, the staff at DFW, or your board representative to learn more about specific programs.

Sincerely,

Chad Vincent, CEO