Hidden Gems Among World Champion Cheeses

March 14, 2012 Say Christians, 77 Square

The winners of the World Championship Cheese Contest have already received plenty of media coverage — toward the end of the public tasting event on Wednesday, it appeared there were as many members of the media present as lab-coated dairy judges. Grazing at the cheese-filled tables in Monona Terrace while the judges completed their work, I was struck by several things.

Springer Mountain Farms Taps Hipcricket For Mobile Site, Loyalty Campaigns

March 14, 2012 Hipcricket

Hipcricket announced that leading poultry producer Springer Mountain Farms will launch a mobile website, as well as text-to-win and loyalty rebate campaigns in April 2012. Hipcricket's campaigns aim to drive sales for distributors and retailers, encourage customer loyalty via rebate codes and increase consumer awareness with event-based mobile contests, all while simultaneously building an opt-in loyalty program which Springer Mountain Farms can leverage in future marketing efforts.

Cattle Higher As Beef Demand Improves

March 14, 2012 K.T. Arasu, Reuters

U.S. live cattle futures rose for a second straight day on Tuesday due to a pick up in demand for beef and expectations for a stronger cash market this week.

Buffalo Meat Makes A Million

March 14, 2012 Kristine Hansen, CNN

Dan O'Brien, the owner of a 3,200-acre ranch in Rapid City, S.D., had been raising a few buffalo with his wife since 1997. But the hobby was proving costly.

World Cocoa Foundation African Cocoa Initiative Will Benefit 100,000 Families

March 14, 2012 World Cocoa Foundation

The World Cocoa Foundation, the U.S. government's Feed the Future Initiative, and the Sustainable Trade Initiative officially launched the WCF African Cocoa Initiative in a ceremony co-hosted with the Ghana Cocoa Board and key African stakeholders, including regional government officials and NGO partners. This Global Development Alliance partnership, supported by Feed the Future through the United States Agency for International Development, will improve cocoa farmer incomes, alleviate poverty, strengthen government and regional institutions, and advance food security in the cocoa-producing countries of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria.