October 27, 2016 – Modesto, CA
This is one of those weeks when Modesto Milling’s roots, philosophies and community involvement converge. Members of our team are attending the Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (WODPA) conference in Washington. You can see more about the conference at: http://www.wodpa.org/
We have mentioned in previous posts that we started as a dairyman’s cooperative in 1974. What we did not mention is that the ownership team of the mill is still comprised of 19 local family-owned dairies that value the Modesto Milling culture and value set. We are still involved in the dairy community, even as we have expanded our lines into poultry, rabbits, hogs, goats, chinchillas and other livestock. This involvement is one of the reasons we are attending the WODPA conference.
But our attendance is not just for nostalgic reasons. We find this conference to be well attended and well run and it allows us to keep our fingers on the pulse of the dairy community. Events like these give us exposure to clients, prospects, competitors, vendors, certifiers, speakers and subject matter experts. We get to track trends, test product receptivity, discover untapped needs and be submersed in the community for several days.
Sure, we are marketing products like our livestock feed and full-fat soy bean meal, which we have mentioned in a previous post. (https://modestomilling.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/modesto-milling-makes-its-own-soybean-meal-and-oil/) But we also do a lot of listening. We are tracking legislative demands in law-heavy states like California and also seeing a lot of vendors and conversation around the inclusion of diverse feed ingredients like mined ingredients, natural ingredients and new health benefits of supplements like kelp. We are also seeing new production capabilities and equipment offerings.
Some of these insights are great affirmations that Modesto Milling has been ahead of the curve with the use of kelp, Redmond Salt products and other unique ingredients that help us deliver a unique and, we believe, a superior line of feed products. Other ideas are new and we get to determine whether tests and more due diligence could lead to further improvements. In any case, we are literally travelling around the western region and beyond to find out what is important and available in the feed marketplace. You can learn more about the kinds of places we go to learn about the species and needs of our clients here: http://modestomilling.com/events.html