In honor of National Ag Day, the North Central NAMA chapter hosted a producer panel of experts on March 16 to discuss current issues within the production animal industry. National Ag Day, held annually in March, celebrates U.S. producers and growers. Speakers included the following: Karin Schaefer, a beef farmer and Minnesota Beef Council executive director; Lori Stevermer, a swine farmer representing the Minnesota Pork Board; and Duane Alberts, a dairy farmer from Pine Island, Minn.

“Consumers are awakening to modern agriculture and now want to ‘discover’ how their food is grown and processed,” said Stevermer. Although, according to some statics, the disconnect between consumers and growers can be pretty wide, with only 30 percent of people surveyed in the Twin Cities metro area knowing a farmer.

Schaefer echoed the sentiment that times are changing in the marketing world and that outreach to dietitians, young mothers and meat market owners are all ways the Minnesota Beef Council is trying to increase beef consumption in the state.

“We’ve changed our approach as beef prices have increased,” she explained. “We were worried that beef was going to become the new lobster. Now we look at how beef can be used as an ingredient when planning dinner for the family.”

Changes in consumer awareness and technology are also an issue for dairy farmers, according to Alberts. “People embrace all of the technology in every other aspect of their lives but they want farmers to go back to how we farmed in the 1950s,” he continued.

This Ag Day event was hosted by broadhead., Rabbit and Clutch+ Performance at their new space in Minneapolis, North401.