This council was created through the Wisconsin Initiative for Agricultural Exports.

Vincent became CEO of DFW in 2016. He leads the Wisconsin dairy checkoff organization to help build markets as well as trust in Wisconsin’s farmers. He also works to drive affinity and increase visibility for Wisconsin’s dairy products.

“Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin works to promote an industry that contributes $45 billion to the state’s economy annually,” says Vincent. “Dairy isn’t just a key economic engine of the state. It’s also not just the beating heart of Wisconsin. The Dairy Industry IS Wisconsin. DFW strives to deliver results that advocate for the attention and respect Wisconsin’s dairy products deserve.”

With these goals at the forefront of every program and initiative, DFW just closed its 2023 fiscal year and announced significant results under Vincent’s leadership.

Efforts in building Proudly Wisconsin Cheese affinity:

• Internal PR team earned $77 million in publicity by garnering national media. Wisconsin Cheese & Dairy was featured on the Today Show, Forbes, Tasting Table, FoodSided, Food52, as well as Yahoo News.
• Reached over 5 million targeted consumers through “Wisconsin, The State of Cheese” storytelling, advertising as well as content via brand partnerships.
• Reached over 25 million consumers through local and regional broadcast segments focused on the nation’s key main grocery markets.

Gaining visibility, distribution, trial and sales of Wisconsin Cheese(s):

• Awareness of the Proudly Wisconsin Cheese badge – on the front of Wisconsin Cheese and Dairy labels — grew 350% in the past 3 years among the target audience.
• Regional Marketing team worked with the 125 largest, most influential grocery retailers and distributors. They also executed Wisconsin dairy promotions in over 10,000 retail stores.
• Connected more cheese and dairy companies with trade decision-makers at the five major national shows and three international shows.
• Engaged more than 480 retail buyers in experiencing Wisconsin, The State of Cheese.

Efforts in sharing Wisconsin’s dairy impact:

• DFW research shows that dairy farmers in Wisconsin are amongst the most trusted of any group. 90% of Wisconsin residents agree that dairy is an industry that is important. 84% have trust in dairy farmers and 82% have trust in the dairy industry.
• DFW continues to share Wisconsin farmers’ stories of care for the land, water, cows, air and community as well as optimize dairy conversations in schools and throughout the industry.
• Delivered over 230 earned media placements telling farmer stories with a value of $1.8 million.
• Focused on educating children through Adopt a Cow reaching 60,000 students. Dairy lessons were downloaded over 1,800 times. Breakfast week kits impacted 100,000 students.

Overall, research indicates there has been a 25% increase in Wisconsin brand impact, +20% growth in overall perceptions of Wisconsin Cheese and sales of Wisconsin Cheese are outpacing the growth of the entire category.