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5A Saturday, August 17, 2013 – Daily News Agriculture farm & ranch Researching the habits of Millennials Coming home from Denver and the ANCW Summer Conference, our Southwest flight attendant announced: "One for the money, two for the show, three — we've been cleared for takeoff, and four to go. Have a good flight." It sounded like some of Jean the old Southwest humor. The weather man kept announcing we would have heavy rain and it was a brief shower, while the television showed Pueblo with flooding. A friend from Texas said she was still in a drought, with only a third of an inch while nearby her ranch others had two inches of rain. "Meet the Millennial" was the theme of the conference. Millennials currently range in age from 13 to 32. At 80 million, the Millennial generation is even larger than the Baby Boomers — currently almost 30 percent of all adults and roughly 27 percent of the total population. Millennials are the most connected generation. They are 2.5 times more likely than older generations to be an early adopter of technology. Social media is their source of information and entertainment, and drives their decision- making. This makes them difficult to market to. Thirty-nine percent live with parents now or moved back in with part temporarily because of economy. They were born between 1980 through 2000, known as the Net generation, Gen Y, Echo Boomers; Trophy Generation. They are optimistic, always connected, institutions are irrelevant, fast multi-taskers, connected with parents, feel entitled, educated, little experience and not loyal to brands or employers. Millennials are more ethnically diverse with more African Americans, Hispanic and Asian than previous generations. Seventy-five percent of Millennials use social networking sites, 1-in-5 have posted a video of themselves online (three times more than other generations). Thirty-seven percent of those ages 18 to 29 were unemployed in 2011. Thirty-one percent of Generation X has an advanced degree and Millennials are expected to surpass that. Forty-five percent of Millennials feel they would eat more at home if they weren't so time starved. The majority (74 percent) of Millennials feel technology makes life easier. Source: Pew Study 2010, US Census. The Older Millennial Mindset — Beef is an important, valued choice and it can be healthy and muscle building. Yet it also gives impressions of overweight and mas- Barton culine. Those committed to health or the environment are not near as predisposed to be "beef people." Simple, versatile cuts is where it's at. They are apprehensive about exploring the full range that beef has to offer due to a lack of knowledge of cuts, and how to cook them. If the pressure is on, it's too much of a risk to do something new with beef. Source: Millennial Generation and Beef, Conversion, (MG&B,C) Dec. 2011. Convenience and health concerns make Millennial parents cautious beef users.Forty-six percent said they don't find beef to be convenient to cook for children. Fifty-five percent said it isn't healthy to give children too much red meat. Sixty-five percent said my children prefer chicken over beef. Fifty-five percent said I cook beef for the adults in the house differently than I do the children. Sixty percent said I try to moderate how much red meat I feed them. Fifty-two percent said I find it hard to make a variety of meals with beef for them. Source: MG&B, C Dec. 2011. Millennials are finding it hard to get the flavor and the tenderness right. Over-cooking and the overall is also a challenge, but underdone isn't as much as a problem. Millennials are buying leaner cuts of beef; going for the lower fat, and less expensive beef options which means they are eating the less flavorful cuts to begin with. Source: MG&B, Dec. 2011. A lack of confidence, lack of understanding, and need for information. Source: MP&B, C, Nov. 2012. Fifty-seven percent wish they could find easy ideas online for ways to season or marinade a steak. Fiftyfive percent would like more information on preparing and serving beef to children. Fifty-four percent say it's hard to know what cuts to choose in the meat case. Sixty-seven percent would like to see trained butchers on staff to provide cooking advice. Eightyone percent have a specific recipe in mind when they buy beef. They are digital consumers. Their indexes are high for: Listening to streaming radio; watching TV shows/movies online; seeking out recipes online; reading books on e-readers; using mobile devices to access the net.Source: 2011 MRI Doublebase. Staying constantly connected, 16 percent post pictures of food they have ordered at restaurants on social networks; zero percent post recipes on social networks; 21 percent have posted pictures of food they cooked on social networks; 60 percent talk to friends about food and 69 percent talk to family members about food. Reliable sources for food and nutrition information: 49 percent chose websites with recipes; 35 percent talking to family and friends; 35 percent tv cooking or food shows; 33 percent websites with health information; 20 percent cooking and Courtesy photo American National CattleWomen President Barbara Jackson, Tucson, AZ with ANCW Outstanding Promoter Evelyn Brown, Cullman, AL and ANCW Outstanding Educator Michele Bartholomay, Sheldon, ND at the ANCW Summer Conference, in Denver, CO. lifestyle magazines; 15 percent USDA; 14 percent social media from friends posts on facebook or pinterest. Thirteen percent store displays/store information; 12 percent pediatrician; 12 percent on food and cooking blogs. Source: Millennial Parents and Beef, Conversion, Nov. 2012. The same source cited these as reliable website resources. Thirty-three percent Allrecipes.com; 13 percent, Foodnetwork.com; 9 percent Recipes.com; 8 percent Pinterest.com; 7 percent Cooks.com; 5 percent Kraftrecipes.com/Kraft.com; 2 percent Betty Crocker and Google.com; 1 percent Cooking.com and Cookinglight.com. Pinterest lead social media sites by 51 percent; 36 percent Facebook, Google+ was 4 percent; YouTube and Twitter were 3 percent. Millennials make decisions by looking to: Online recipes, social media, online ratings, Pinterest, Facebook, Groupon, YouTube, and traditional media. Millennials ask: How many stars are in the ranking? Do my friends, or people like me, like the product? Will they teach me how to use the product with video? Does Justin (Timberlake) tweet about it? For the beef community to meet the Millennial needs, we need to remember they must have Digital Connection. They have short attention span; Their phone is their resource to life; Mobile (phones/tablets) are just part of life, and growing up. Trust of online resources. Inherent need to "get credit" through social. We need to be online. Engage in social media. Rethink printed materials. Think visually. Meet them where they are. Seeing is believing. Millennials relationship with cooking: Don't have a lot of time or money. Cooking doesn't come easy. Relying on ground beef. Don't like failure. Need solution for their life stage, which is not meat and potatoes. Choose easy recipes with few ingredients. Start "small" and instill confidence. Our production of beef and how we raise it, has to be a conversation, not a marketing gimmick. We shouldn't assume we know what they want. We need to showcase beef in the most nutritious ways possible. Share family friendly recipes. What they feed their children and family is important to them. Health is more than nutrition. Share the nutrient package story. Make it real for Millennials and what beef can do for their lives. The Millennials want to make a difference and have a say in the products they choose. We must be transparent and real. Let them know we're listening and learning from what we're hearing. Give the Millennials what they want: a voice and a choice. This study was funded by The Beef Checkoff. Beef, It's What's for Dinner. Farmer's corn crop yields 4-headed ear HANOVER, Pa. (AP) — When farmer Ben Klunk tells people about the mutant corn he found, they're all ears. Klunk said Wednesday he discovered an ear of sweet corn with four heads on his central Pennsylvania farm and has been keeping it in his refrigerator. Klunk said that when he pulled the corn out of the crop he initially thought there was mud holding it together, but his wife said that wasn't the case. "It started out as one," Marie Klunk said, "and then it split, and then another one split." The farmer, who's 81, said he's never seen corn multiply in such a way: He'd never found a double- or triple-headed ear of corn, let alone a quadruple one. "And I've pulled a lot of sweet corn!" he said. The Klunks said they don't plan to eat the corn, which was pulled If you're tired of potholes and dusty roads Stromer Realty Specializing in Farms and Ranches Family owned & operated since 1975 Lic. #911130 275-2195 from their farmland in Hanover, 20 miles southwest of the state capital, Harrisburg, and was first reported by The Evening Sun newspaper. They said if it stays fresh for another 10 days they'll enter it into a contest at the South Mountain 4-H Fair. But the Klunks aren't sure it'll last that long in the refrigerator and suspect it's already turning. If that happens, they said, they'll just throw the mutated husk away. 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