Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit to Kick Off with Consumer Focus Group

Minnesota pig farmer Wanda Patsche wins photo contest and trip to Summit

February 26, 2019 – The Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2019 Stakeholders Summit themed, A Seat At The Table, will kick off with a live consumer focus group to help attendees better understand consumer perceptions of animal agriculture. The event be held May 8-9 at the InterContinental at the Plaza Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. Discounted registration rates are available through April 1. To view the agenda and register, visit http://summit.animalagalliance.org.

Summit attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear directly from their customers and ask them questions about how they find information about food and farming during the focus group panel, conducted by Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics. Panelists will be asked to share how they decide what to buy at the grocery store and order off of the restaurant menu, including whether issues like animal welfare, sustainability and antibiotic use factor into their decisions.

Roerink provides customized research with a specialty in food retailing for clients such as the North American Meat Institute, Food Marketing Institute, National Grocers Association, National Confectioners Association and many others. Through countless consumer studies, she has developed an excellent perspective on the ever-changing wants and needs of the grocery shopper in a one-size-fits-no-one world. Prior to founding 210 Analytics, Roerink was the Head of Research for the Food Marketing Institute. Anne-Marie designs and authors the annual Power of Meat study, along with similar studies in produce, deli prepared, frozen, SmartFood, bakery, candy and other categories.

One of the attendees at this year’s Summit will be Wanda Patsche, a pig farmer from Minnesota. Wanda earned first place in the Alliance’s “A Seat At The Table” farmer photo contest, winning a trip to the Summit. Her photo featured a porkchop with the tagline “when you only had one job…and you nailed it.” Second place went to Melinda Bastian, a cattle rancher from Missouri.

The 2019 Summit has been approved for seven CEUs eligible for ARPAS members. Be sure to check the Summit website for the most up-to-date Summit information. You can also follow the hashtags #AAA19 for periodic updates about the event. For general questions about the Summit please contact summit@animalagalliance.org or call (703) 562-5160.

Get involved:

Show your support for the Alliance’s outreach efforts by becoming an official Summit sponsor today! For 2019 sponsorship opportunities, please visit http://summit.animalagalliance.org. For more information, contact Allyson Jones-Brimmer at ajonesbrimmer@animalagalliance.org.

Thank you to our 2019 Summit sponsors: Watt Global Media, Farm Journal Media, Meatingplace, National Provisioner, American Feed Industry Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Board, Smithfield, United Soybean Board, National Turkey Federation, Dairy MAX, Farm Credit, Country Folks, National Biodiesel Board, Summit Livestock Facilities, United Egg Producers, Cobb-Vantress, Inc., Council for Biotechnology Information, Protect the Harvest, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Veal Association, BPI Technology, Inc., Kemin, National Chicken Council, Live Oak Bank, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Vivayic, Eggland’s Best, Braake Consulting, Inc., Food Industry Environmental Network, Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Soybean.

The Alliance also thanks the following members for their continued support of Summit and other Alliance programs: U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Merck Animal Health, Charleston|Orwig, Diamond V, Zoetis, Alltech, Inc., Aviagen Group, Bayer Animal Health, Dairy Farmers of America, Genus PLC – PIC/ABS, Hendrix Genetics, Hy-Line North America LLC, Iowa Soybean Association, Midwest Dairy, Nutrien, Provimi North America, Inc. and Seaboard Foods LLC.

About the Alliance:

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is an industry-united, nonprofit organization that helps bridge the communication gap between farm and fork. We connect key food industry stakeholders to arm them with responses to emerging issues. We engage food chain influencers and promote consumer choice by helping them better understand modern animal agriculture. We protect by exposing those who threaten our nation’s food security with damaging misinformation. Find the Alliance on Facebook, Twitter

Category: Press Releases

Tag: Consumer Engagement, Stakeholders Summit,