It's cool to drink the White Stuff! (From Western Telegraph)

It's cool to drink the White Stuff!

Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Carwyn Jones is lending his support to a new WDA campaign to promote milk in Wales.

The White Stuff - Are you made of it? campaign, aimed at encouraging more people to drink milk, has been launched bilingually in Wales, using the phrase Llaeth: Y Ddiod Gadarn.

The campaign is being taken forward by the Welsh Development Agency in conjunction with the Dairy Council, which launched the original White Stuff campaign a year ago.

Mr Jones said: The Welsh dairy industry hasnt had an easy time recently, but despite the problems I believe it has a sound future if producers recognise the importance of premium-branding, added value and co-operation. The Llaeth: Y Ddiod Gadarn campaign will give producers the chance to work together to raise the profile of a top-quality - and healthy - Welsh product, and also help safeguard the dairy industry.

It also builds on the support the Assembly has already given to the dairy industry through the lifting of dairy inspection charges and the provision of free school milk for all key stage one pupils.

I am sure this campaign will be just as successful as last years English language campaign, The White Stuff, and that Welsh milk will become an essential part of the weekly shopping trolley, added Mr Jones.

Six Welsh-based dairy companies have already signed up to the scheme, which was the brainchild of Wales Agri-Food Partnerships dairy strategy group. They include West Wales companies First Milk and Llaeth Cymru. Dewi Williams, WDA agri-food co-ordinator for the dairy sector, said: 'The Dairy Councils research shows that the White Stuff campaign has already added 33 million litres of milk on to the market since it was launched in June 2000.

'Before the campaign started, children didnt think it was cool to be seen drinking milk; the biggest decline in milk drinking had been among teenagers and young adults, but the campaign has done much to address that.