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NEWS ROUNDUP

USDA Dairy Outlook Upbeat st figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture here show a rosy outlook for dairy production and prices over the next several months.A report by the Economic Research Service predicted that egg production for the third quarter of 1996 will be about 5% higher than last year, while wholesale egg prices for the quarter are expected to average 10 cents per dozen above last

USDA Dairy Outlook Upbeat

st figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture here show a rosy outlook for dairy production and prices over the next several months.

A report by the Economic Research Service predicted that egg production for the third quarter of 1996 will be about 5% higher than last year, while wholesale egg prices for the quarter are expected to average 10 cents per dozen above last year.

"Economic growth continues to support demand for dairy products," stated the report, which attributed consumers' increased spending on cheese and other diary foods to sustained growth in income and low unemployment.

Favorable dairy prices will continue through the remainder of 1996 and into 1997, the report continued, with a rapid rise in prices expected during the second half of 1996 and 1997, but only fractional growth in sales for 1997.

Beef on Ad Is Still Beefing Up

DENVER -- According to recent analysis by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association here, the amount of beef on ad is still on the rise.

U.S. retailers advertised and promoted beef more this year than at any time in the past 10 years, according to NCBA. Out of the total amount of retail meat advertising space available, 48.3% featured beef, compared with 44.1% in 1995 and 41.1% in 1993. The 1996 percentage is the highest since 1986, when beef represented 49.6%.

One side effect is that beef is eating up the ad space formerly occupied by other meats: from 1993 to 1996, chicken ad space decreased from 22.4% to 20.5%; pork, from 25.2% to 22.5%; and turkey, 9.2% to 6.4%.

CSPI Pushes Low-Fat Milk

WASHINGTON -- A new handbook by the Center for Science in the Public Interest here outlines an approach for supermarkets and other entities to convince consumers to switch to low-fat milk.

Based on a successful experiment with the community of Clarksburg, W.Va., the "1% or Less" campaign the handbook describes focuses on switching people from whole or 2% fat milk to 1% fat or skim milk as a way of reducing fat consumption "rather than encouraging people to overhaul their entire diet or lifestyle all at once," according to a statement from CSPI.

In Clarksburg, a seven-week campaign combining paid advertising, news coverage and other community-based activities resulted in a 17% increase in 1% and skim milk sales to 35% of total milk sales. Also impressive was a 25% increase in total milk sales, the CSPI statement said.

The handbook, "A First Step Toward Healthy Eating: The 1% or Less Handbook," instructs retailers and other interested parties "how to plan, implement, and evaluate a community-wide health education campaign." Materials included in the handbook, such as model letters, handouts, camera-ready logos, advertisements and milk taste-test protocols are also provided on disk.