The Ohio Department of Agriculture is busy planning events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ohio Proud program in 2013. “The program was unveiled in August 1993,” Senior Program Manager Lori Panda told The Produce News.

The purpose of the marketing program is to identify and promote agricultural products made and/or grown in Ohio. “Agriculture is Ohio’s number one industry, contributing more than $107 billion to the state’s economy,” the Ohio Proud website states. “If you produce a food or agricultural product that is at least 50 percent grown, raised or processed in Ohio, you can become an Ohio Proud partner.”

According to Ms. Panda, participation in the program continues to grow. A total of 496 agricultural entities from 78 counties are participating in Ohio Proud in 2013. The program allows members access to a variety of creative marketing strategies: in-store promotions, in-store demonstrations, restaurant promotions, point-of-purchase materials, networking opportunities, seminars/workshops, Heartland cuisine and online farmers’ market directory.

Ms. Panda was asked how the program has evolved over the past 20 years. “The structure of the program is pretty much the same,” she stated. “But there have been two big changes.” In 2007, Ms. Panda said the Ohio Proud logo was changed to give it more of an agricultural feel. The change also made the logo more easily recognized by consumers.

Prior to the logo change, Ms. Panda said a survey was conducted to compare the old logo to new proposed logos. “Consumers didn’t understand what the old logo meant,” she stated. But they weighed in on their choices for the new graphic.

The significance of the Ohio Proud logo should not be underestimated. “We have seen that consumers will choose a product with the Ohio Proud logo over one that doesn’t have it,” Ms. Panda commented. She illustrated by saying that a retailer was stocking shelves at a time that a consumer was purchasing coffee. The consumer picked up two bags — one with the logo, and the other without. The retailer noted that the consumer returned the unidentified bag to the shelf, and he questioned the consumer as to the reason for her choice.

“It was because of the Ohio Proud logo,” Ms. Panda said. She is gratified that retailers are “jumping onboard” with the program.

Consumers want to buy local when they can, and Ms. Panda said there is a surge in the growth of farmers’ markets as a result. She went on to say the growth has been significant enough that the markets sometimes have a difficult time getting enough farmers to participate. “Consumers like to talk to people and get that sense of community,” she said.

The other significant change was a reduction in the annual membership fee, which was changed from $100 to $25. Ms. Panda said this made the program affordable for small businesses and farmers’ markets.

“We thought it would be cost effective,” she commented.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture held a marketing conference with Ohio Proud partners to roundtable ideas for the August celebration. Ms. Panda said actual events will be formalized soon.

“I’ve been working with the program pretty much since its inception,” she stated. “I really love my job.”