SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Building trust in dairy farmers and dairy foods was the goal of a virtual farm tour recently hosted by Neil and Bill Peck of Welcome Stock Farm, Schuylerville, N.Y., and facilitated by American Dairy Association North East, for the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics members.
Themed, “The Future of Dietetics and Dairy Farming: Where the Roads Cross,” the program helped provide a transparent view of modern dairy farming with human nutrition experts and health professionals to build confidence in dairy that they can share with their hundreds of clients and patients.
“We were happy to share the farm with nutrition experts, and to have the opportunity to answer questions live” said Neil Peck. “Every event like this moves the needle to reinforce milk as a healthy nutritious product.”
More than 80 registered dietitians tuned in to learn about three commonalities between dietetics and dairy farming: sustainability, research and technology. Neil Peck also participated in a live question and answer session with the participants after viewing the recorded tour. Meaningful dialogue included topics to related to labor laws, milk alternatives and sustainability, among others.
“The video tour of the New York dairy farm highlighted sustainable practices that helps me to further educate the public on what farmers are doing to protect the environment and provide consumers with delicious nutrient dense foods,” said conference participant and Registered Dietitian Julie Raway, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS, FAND.
“Gaining the support of health professionals and working with them as third-party spokespersons opens the door to reinforce the health benefits of milk and dairy products with their clients,” said ADA North East CEO Rick Naczi.
The Peck farm tour is available to view on the ADA North East YouTube channel.
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About American Dairy Association North East
American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing nearly 10,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com.
