Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1341

Back to back public opinion surveys have shown intensive radio and print promotion to be highly effective in boosting the public's awareness of the benefits of swine production.

The public opinion polls were conducted by Winnipeg based Probe Research on behalf of Manitoba Pork Council's Public Affairs Committee to gauge the impact of its intensive spring print and radio advertising campaign.

Each of the polls, one conducted prior to the campaign and the other following the campaign, questioned one thousand randomly selected adult Manitobans.

Pork Council Communications Specialist Dwayne Marling says the survey showed the promotional strategy to be highly effective.

"Our advertising campaigns focused on a number of different issues that are faced by the hog industry today.

We looked at animal care issues, we spoke about environmental issues, we spoke about the jobs that hog farmers bring to their communities.

It addressed a full range of issues that are current in rural Manitoba as it relates to the hog industry.

From the time in which the first survey was taken in March of 2003 until the follow-up survey in June of 2003 public attitudes towards the hog industry improved.

Positive impressions about information on the industry improved from 36 percent in March to 47 percent in June and negative impressions during that same period declined to 40 percent from 48 percent".

Marling says the significant increase in positive impressions and the significant decline in negative impressions suggests the combination of print and radio to circulate information to be highly effective in getting out the truth about hog farming.

He says the survey results are encouraging as the Public Affairs Committee prepares its fall advertising campaign.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.