American Dairy Association Mideast

To showcase how Ohio dairy farmers are using innovative cutting-edge technology and sustainable farming practices to protect the environment, the American Dairy Association (ADA) Mideast worked in partnership with Inspire to produce a video called New Technology: Advancing Sustainability.

This campaign was launched in reaction to a billboard that was erected near downtown Toledo, Ohio that focused on how farmers—including both dairy and other livestock farmers—in the area had polluted local water sources by not responsibly handling manure. It painted dairy farmers in a negative light and did not tell the whole story of their environmental efforts.

The video features northwest Ohio dairy farmer Trent Stoller using cutting-edge technology to help reduce his farm’s environmental footprint and produce wholesome milk that helps feed the world. Specifically, he’s using 360 RAIN, an automated system that is changing when and how farmers can safely apply manure to their fields, helping to protect and improve the environment.

To help educate and inform consumers in the greater Toledo area about how northwest Ohio dairy farmers are committed to protecting and preserving the environment—specifically water quality—ADA Mideast launched several new online resources. This video is complemented by an online profile of Stoller, which provides more information about his farm and environmental practices, and a shorter Reel of the video shared on Instagram. In addition, ADA Mideast produced another video and reel focused on another Ohio dairy farming family and reshared existing resources related to sustainability.

To convey how the 360 RAIN automated system is allowing dairy farmers like Stoller to apply manure and water to a growing crop, a combination of drone footage and close-up shots were used to show how the system works on a field. This approach was also used to show different shots of the dairy farm as Trent explained the process.

Through showing and explaining steps local dairy farmers take daily to be good stewards of the environment and featuring farmers discussing environmental responsibility, ADA Mideast localized the messages to help audiences understand what green practices farmers are adopting on a more local and regional level.