The levels of debt that certain banks have achieved and the amounts of money that governments are pumping into their respective economies and making available for banks and businesses – such as motor manufacturers – have been mind-boggling.
I remember the days when I was learning about PR and marketing. The text books would say that, in times of recession, there’s a huge temptation for companies to cut their marketing budgets and scale down their new product development work. The business gurus of those days warned against any such behaviour.
It’s a message that I’ve heard again during our current problems. Today’s financial and business experts have been visiting our TV and radio stations and filling our newspapers with reports and surveys, analysis and predictions about what the future holds.
So, it’s a time for the strong leaders in the dairy industry to step forward, time for the industry to hold firm and not to panic; to make sure that we don’t retreat and allow dairy to diminish in consumers’ thoughts and in their shopping baskets.
In her keynote breakfast speech at the IDFA Annual Dairy Forum, president and CEO Connie Tipton summed things up nicely: “Uncertainty and change do not mean we have to head for the bunkers. We have producers and processors who want or need to expand their operations in spite of news that this is one of the worst recessions ever. And while we want to manage risk, we don’t want to be dominated by fear.”
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