INNOVATIVE. EFFECTIVE. RIGHT.   June 2011      Maryland Grazers and Marti Betz Design team to win W.K.Kellogg award. The Maryland Grazers Network worked with Marti Betz Design to create a calendar focused on farmers and grazing techniques. It was selected from 1,000 project product submissions  for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Award for innovation in learning.  Tom Springer, Kellogg Project Manager said,  "In terms of quality and ingenuity, we have found that your MD Grazers Network calendar falls in the top 25. The photos are beautiful, but we also like the monthly checklists and how they reflect knowledge shared between veteran farmers and new farmers. This shows some true out of the box (or is that feedlot) thinking. We'd like to feature the calendar on the new Knowledge Center portion of our website www.wkkf.org." Our job was to create a visual structure to support the practical information contained in the calendar. Good design is an investment in innovative thinking, positioning, branding and communication that creates value for businesses in terms of competitive advantage, customer trust, loyalty, and market share. This product helps to advertise this farmer mentoring program aimed to promote "grass-fed" livestock.  One of the most effective practices for saving farmers money, improving soils and nutritional value of animal production, providing greater market opportunities and protecting water quality is rotating livestock in grass pastures in place of concentrated feeding associated with intensively grown feed grains. Design is a critical strategic asset that is most effective when employed early in corporate plans, not as a decorative finality.  Templates for each month were set up in the beginning. Monthly checklists were designed for readability and visual interest. The information is presented above the corresponding monthly calendar.  Pertinent network and marketing tips reside in prominent locations. Photos support the grass fed issue of the month. Easy to view, easy to read makes for easy to do. View Archived Newsletters. Click Here.