The Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association recently teamed with Pavone to create a public image campaign centered around the theme “Your Milk Comes from a Good Place.” At the heart of our public relations and social media-heavy efforts was a contest that awarded a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a V.I.P. guest on a working dairy farm to six dairy fans throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
In addition to garnering media coverage in nearly every area hosting V.I.P. experiences, the campaign created something even more valuable – memories that will last a lifetime for some very happy dairy fans. Four of those experiences are summarized below, with two more taking place this weekend at farms in Delaware and Virginia.
An elementary school librarian by day, Mary Bowser got up close and personal with a calf at Griebel Dairy Farm in Lucinda, PA. “My 97-year-old mother pastured her family’s cows in our neighborhood when she was young,” wrote Bowser in her winning contest entry. “I would love to be part of the world of agriculture – if only temporarily.”
Carol Yemola and her husband, Ed, got a lesson in cow cuisine from Dick Waybright of the world’s largest robotic dairy farm, Mason Dixon Farms in Gettysburg, PA. “I strive to provide my family with the freshest products to eat,” wrote Yemola in her essay. “What could be better than learning where some of those products are produced?”
Neal and Ronna Farley (with farmer Robert Fry) spent a memorable day at St. Brigid’s Farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Ronna waxed poetic in her bid to win a V.I.P. experience and her charming limerick stood out in a crowded field of entries: “There once was a girl from the city; she always looked quite pretty. A farm trip she won; her dream had begun. Looking back on it makes her quite giddy.”
As the guests of honor on Creamy Acres Farm in Mullica Hill, NJ, Mimi Kostos of Philadelphia and her fiancé, Luis, pitched in to help with the daily feeding. “Being a food-service director and head of the district’s wellness committee, I come in contact with many students,” wrote Kostos in her contest entry. “The experience will provide me with additional tools to educate students on the importance of dairy farming.”