Billboards touting the Choose PA Dairy campaign are sprouting throughout the state, including locations in Westmoreland County.
The campaign roll-out, which started in May , includes public service announcements on TV and radio and social media posts on Facebook and Twitter. An estimated 60 billboards with the Choose PA Dairy message have been unveiled statewide, spokeswoman Lucy Gnazzo said.
The marketing campaign seeks to boost the dairy industry by educating consumers on how to find and buy locally-produced milk and on the nutritional value of milk.
There are two primary ways to find local milk: looking for the “PA Preferred” logo or the plant code 42 on the packaging. Both indicate the milk was produced in Pennsylvania.
Plant codes, which represent the state in which the milk was processed, are usually printed near the top of the container or on the lid. A code beginning with 42 signals milk was processed in Pennsylvania and was likely to have come from a farm within the state.
Among the promoted brands are Turner Dairy in Penn Hills and Galliker's Dairy in Johnstown.
Also this month, the American Dairy Association North East, Feeding Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Dairymen's Association , in cooperation with the Outdoor Advertising Association of PA, will use 150 billboards to promote the charitable Fill A Glass With Hope campaign.
The initiative uses donations to purchase milk at a discounted price to distribute to people in need through Feeding Pennsylvania member food banks. A $1 donation buys eight servings of milk.
Choose PA Dairy is a partnership of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture with the Center for Dairy Excellence , Pennsylvania Dairymen's Association, PA Preferred, American Dairy Association North East, the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.
Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.
