When Nebraska's dairy producers gathered in Columbus recently for their 133rd annual State Dairy Convention, producers spent time talking about communicating.

But it takes more than talk to inform the savvy millennial consumers of today, says Lucas Lentsch, Midwest Dairy CEO. It takes an entirely different strategy to get the good news out there about today's modern dairy farmers and the wholesomeness of their products.

Lentsch, who spoke during a luncheon at the Nebraska State Dairy Association convention, talked about his experiences visiting with a millennial consumer he was seated next to while traveling on an airplane to a meeting.

"She described herself as a 'woke' consumer, or someone who is aware of the implications environmentally, socially and financially of her food dollar expenditures," Lentsch said. "I hadn't heard that term before, but when she questioned me about dairy practices, I had my farmer hat on and answered her questions defending the farmer point of view."

He said that he felt frustrated, because the consumer met him at each argument with another of her own. "I've had hours and hours of training on how to communicate with consumers about dairy management, but I felt that I was failing at communicating when I was faced with these questions."

Over the past year since having this experience, Lentsch and his staff have talked about how they have been approaching consumers previously, and the strengths and weaknesses of that messaging.

"I learned that we need to talk about dairying and dairy products with millennial consumers like this in a new way," Lentsch says. "We need to speak with them about the issues they care about and talk in terms they understand and that resonate with them."

The dairy industry has built a message over time that resonates with consumers. More than 95% of U.S. households have fluid milk in their refrigerators, Lentsch said. While consumer trends continue to change — with 50% of money spent on food eaten away from home — understanding food service retailers, as well as consumers, continues to be important.

Although fluid milk continues to garner less space than other new beverages in the grocery store coolers, milk continues to provide up to 4% of the profit for grocery retailers, with all dairy providing up to 20% of this profit, according to recent studies, Lentsch said.

Partnerships with other companies, such as the milk industry's new cooperative effort to produce new products with Coca-Cola, like Fairlife milk, represent the industry's efforts to respond to the on-the-go lifestyle of today's consumers.

As part of the overarching communication theme, the convention also featured speaker Brad Scott, a fourth-generation California dairyman and dairy processor who is chairman of the National Dairy Board. Scott's farm has been featured on the hit television show, "Undercover Boss." Amber Pankonin, a registered dietitian who is a farm and food blogger and a voice for agriculture on Stirlist.com, gave a presentation for producers on how to connect with consumers using social media.

Awards galore
During the NSDA business meeting, Bill Thiele, Clearwater, was retained as president for another term. The entire slate of directors was also retained, including officers Dwaine Junck of Carroll as vice president and Roger Sprakel of Crofton as secretary-treasurer.

Two new robotic dairies in the state were honored during the convention with Dairymen of the Year awards, including Brett Beavers of Carleton and Bill Demerath at Plainview. Tuls Dairy ranked first in the NSDA milk quality category with the lowest average somatic cell count among the state's dairy producers. Ranking second was Broken Bow Dairy, with third place going to Murman Dairy. There were 18 qualified entries in the contest.

Dairy Herd Improvement Association awards were also announced for the top herds based on pounds of milk and pounds of protein, with a minimum of 10 tests recorded. Broken Bow Dairy won first place in the Holstein division, with second place going to Steffview Dairy and third going to Hochstein Dairy. The Jersey division of DHIA awards was won by James Meyer at Roca. Nuttelman Dairy at Stromsburg won the crossbred and mixed breed division, with Crook Dairy placing second and Steffen Ag Inc. taking third.

You can learn more about the convention at nebraskamilk.org. Get details on dairying in Nebraska by contacting Nebraska Extension dairy specialist, Kim Clark at [email protected].