‘Rainy River Raised’ promoted

You may have seen the slogan and its logo, “Rainy River Raised,” on items in some stores across the district.
“We were looking for something to give products grown or raised by the [local] agricultural sector an identity,” explained Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association member Kim Jo Bliss, one of the people who helped develop the logo.

The logo/slogan was created in 2008 when the RRCA had an intern working for it, and with the help of Jeannette Cawston of the Rainy River Future Development Corp. and fellow RRCA member Amos Brielmann.
“It represents green grass, one of our biggest and best assets here,” noted Bliss.
“And ‘Rainy River Raised’ applies to anything [agricultural] produced right here in the Rainy River District,” she added.
To date, the RRCA has put the logo/slogan on its cattle tags, reusable shopping bags, pens, and hats. It also has been used by stores in Emo and Atikokan that sell locally-produced meat.
The Clover Valley Farmers’ Market in Fort Frances has used it on small food box orders, as well.
“It is open to anyone to use and is free of charge,” said Bliss.
“All a producer needs to do is contact me.
Bliss can be reached at 275-9706 or via e-mail at kjb@tbaytel.net
One of the challenges for the “brand” is that RRCA kept its meaning fairly “safe and clean.”
Bliss said that larger commercial entities have shown interest in it, but want more clearly-defined meaning.
“Is it natural? Is it organic, etc.,” she explained.
Cattle buyers from afar, who have purchased animals with the tags on them, already have identified that cattle from this district are of a high quality.
“We actually had a call from a feedlot looking to buy some cattle with the ‘Rainy River Raised tags’ as they had done so well and he wanted more!” Bliss enthused.