Through the lens
When AMPI launched the Dinner Bell Creamery brand in 2019, one purpose was to acquaint consumers with the co-op’s dairy farmer-owners. A series of videos were created showcasing the daily life of several member families on the co-op’s western side. Now it’s time to refresh the faces and places featured in those promotional videos. A video team took to the road to visit member farms and a grocery store in Southeast Minnesota to capture new stories about the people behind the brand.
Footage captured during the two days of shooting will be edited into short videos and advertisements for the Dinner Bell Creamery brand. In addition, photos taken during the farm visits will appear in future print media.
The new images and video will help to further acquaint consumers with the Dinner Bell Creamery brand promise and the dairy farm families behind it. Taking the time to help promote the brand is an investment that benefits AMPI, said Kevin Siewert.
“It’s important that we tell our Co-op Crafted story,” he said. “We want consumers to know our Dinner Bell Creamery products are made from high-quality milk produced on family farms. And that we’re committed to doing the hard work that is required to achieve excellence from farm to table because we believe our customers deserve nothing less.”
Tuesday, Aug. 13
4:30 a.m.: The video team travels to Hyde Park Holsteins in Zumbro Falls, Minn. The 600-cow dairy is operated by the Siewert family: Kerwin and wife Sandy, son Kevin and wife Kay, and their sons Justin, Jake, Lee and Blake. Along with their longtime herdsman and a team of employees, they work to provide exceptional animal care on the farm.
5:30 a.m.: It’s still dark when the team arrives at the Wabasha County farm. The videographers quickly set up the cameras and launch a drone to capture scenic sunrise shots. As the sun rises, they move around the farm, capturing images of farm life, chores, milking
and feeding.
7:00 a.m.: Calf care is a family affair for the Siewerts. Kevin and his youngest son, Blake, mix up milk to bring to the calves housed in hutches. Brothers Lee and Justin join in to ensure each animal receives attention.
8:30 a.m.: On a multi-generational farm like the Siewerts, each generation has their own story to tell. Kevin’s grandfather founded the farm at this location in the mid 1940s. Kevin’s father, Kerwin, returned to the farm full-time in 1970. Kerwin steps in front of the camera to discuss changes the farm has undergone as Kevin grew up and raised his own four sons there. Justin, Kevin’s oldest son, now has two children who may become the fifth generation to carry on the family’s dairy farming legacy.
11:00 a.m.: The Siewerts sit down for a meal of grilled cheeseburgers and sweet corn that prominently features Dinner Bell Creamery’s Salted Butter and American Cheese slices.
1:00 p.m.: It’s on to the next farm, Rolling Ridge Acres in Lewiston, Minn. Here, the Luehmann family —
parents Paul and Katie and their eight children ranging
from age 8 to 22 — farm together, with the oldest children taking full-time roles alongside Paul.
6:30 p.m.: Evening on the fourth-generation dairy farm in Winona County provides a dramatic landscape as the sun sets across the rolling hills and valley.
Wednesday, Aug. 14
5:45 a.m.: After arriving early for more sunrise shots, the video crew follows members of the family as they tackle chores. Sisters Abigail and Julia handle calf feeding. Meanwhile, their sister, Laurel, mixes feed for the cows and heifers. Brother, Peyton, who serves as the farm’s herdsman, consults with dad Paul while conducting health checks as the morning milking gets underway.
9:00 a.m.: Paul and some of his children pause from chores to share their family’s unique story in an on-camera interview. They provide insight into their
daily commitment to being responsible stewards of the 300 Holsteins they milk and the farm’s 700 acres of cropland.
10:30 a.m.: The video team joins mom Katie and daughters Charlotte and Gloria, who are baking chocolate chip cookies in their home bakery, a new summer endeavor for the family. Several of the children have their cottage food license, allowing them to prepare and sell baked goods in the state of Minnesota. Of course, each batch uses Dinner Bell Creamery butter.
1:00 p.m.: To complete the AMPI brand’s farm-to-dairy case story, the video team assembles at Rushford Foods in small Rushford, Minn., population 1,861.
Here, we meet grocery shoppers who are selecting and purchasing Dinner Bell Creamery butter and cheese. The local grocery store receives its Co-op Crafted products through its membership in Associated Wholesale Grocers, the nation’s largest cooperative food wholesaler to independently owned supermarkets.
