Friday, December 27, 2019
CapitalPress.com
9
2020 potato contract
negotiations underway
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Dairy West
A screen shot from the Unbottled website.
Dairy West announces new brand
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Idaho and Utah dairy
farmers are putting their
efforts behind a new initia-
tive to appeal to consumers
concerned about health and
nutrition by launching a new
brand called “Unbottled.”
The brand is aimed at the
concept of unbottling your
greatness with dairy foods,
said Kristi Spence, senior
vice president of market-
ing for Dairy West, a pro-
motional organization that
works on behalf of Idaho
and Utah dairy farmers.
The platform will allow
the industry to be trans-
parent and authentic about
dairy, from what happens on
the farm to the nutritional
benefits of milk in the diet,
she said.
Dairy West works to
inspire consumer trust in
dairy farming and grow sales
of dairy foods and is look-
ing for the Unbottled brand
to have a presence beyond a
single campaign, she said.
The organization has
done a lot of research and
found overwhelmingly peo-
ple just want to be there best
selves. But there’s a lot of
confusion when it comes
to nutrition and guilt asso-
ciated with eating certain
foods, she said.
“Through clear and
authentic information, we
hope to close this gap and
give people permission to
become their best selves,
make choices that feel right
and get people back to
what’s simple and real,” she
said.
The Unbottled.com web-
site will be a place consum-
ers can get honest, simple
answers to their questions,
she said.
“We’re hoping Unbot-
tled becomes a trusted,
uncomplicated voice in a
sometimes confusing nutri-
tion world,” she said.
The brand will address
anything consumers want to
know about the dairy indus-
try and dairy foods through
Dairy West’s partnerships
with dairy farmers, veteri-
narians, health profession-
als, scientists, university
professors, athletes and
more, she said.
“We do our best work
when we can partner with
other people and organi-
zations who have similar
goals. Unbottled is a nice
platform where we can do
that,” she said.
Dairy West’s vision
is to convene the entire
dairy community and work
together toward a positive
future. Meanwhile, Unbot-
tled will serve as a vehicle
for messages Dairy West
and its partners can share
directly with consumers.
“We’re pretty excited
about it. We think it allows
us to be relevant and be a
catalyst for where we need
to go,” she said.
It’ll center around how
dairy helps unbottle con-
sumers’ everyday greatness,
she said.
Dairy West is building
out the website and wel-
comes feedback, she said.
“We’re excited to see
where it goes from here and
its potential,” she said.
The brand is being intro-
duced in a 30-second com-
mercial that will air on TV
and digitally in Idaho and
Utah. It has also entered into
a sponsorship agreement
with Idaho Public Televi-
sion and Utah Public Televi-
sion and produced a 30-sec-
ond animated video that will
air during children’s educa-
tional programming.
Parents of young children
are a key audience for edu-
cating consumers that dairy
is a nutritional food with
a lot of value for kids and
family, she said.
The Unbottled.com web-
site is currently a landing
page, but will soon be a des-
tination consumers can go
to get information about all
things dairy.
Negotiations are under-
way for next year’s
potato grower contracts in
Washington.
Dale Lathim, executive
director of Potato Growers
of Washington, provided
an update during his com-
ments Dec. 11 at the Wash-
ington Potato Summit in
Airway Heights, Wash.
The voluntary organi-
zation negotiates pre-sea-
son contracts on behalf of
65 member growers repre-
senting more than 80% of
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
the frozen processing con- Dale Lathim, executive director of the Potato Growers
tracted acres in the state. of Washington.
Assessments are 13 cents
per ton. The annual budget they believe the number eroded down to where
could be absorbed by the they’re too tight,” Lathim
is $300,000, Lathim said.
The organization is industry without negative said. “With the profitabil-
ity that’s in this industry,
negotiating with Lamb impacts, he said.
Lathim said he couldn’t and as much money as the
Weston, J.R. Simplot Co.
share figures due to con- processing companies are
and McCain Foods.
“We have made what we fidentiality while negotia- making, they can certainly
afford it.”
think is a very reasonable tions are underway.
Lathim told the Capital
“I can tell you it’s well
offer that would restore
your profit levels back to over a double-digit percent- Press negotiations will last
“however long it takes,”
where they were in the age increase,” he said.
When one of the major to the point where they are
2013 crop year,” Lathim
previously agreeable to both growers
told farmers. “That was the processors
last year profits were really asked growers to give up and processors.
Typically, negotiations
some of their margin to
good.”
Lathim said the orga- help the company compete are resolved before plant-
nization asked for a figure in the world marketplace, ing begins at the end of
that would restore growers’ growers did it, Lathim said. February or first of March.
“We would hope that
profitability without neg- Processors also asked for
atively impacting the pro- relief following the West this year would be no dif-
cessing companies’ returns. Coast port slowdown to ferent and we would be
done in that same time-
Wall Street analysts have help restore markets.
looked at his offer and said
“The margins have frame,” Lathim said.
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