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Made-to-order omelets gave visitors full stomachs while they listened to an upbeat presentation from Connie Cahill on "Reaching Today’s Consumer."

The morning program started with state board members and OFBF staff making omelets for those attending.

Then Cahill interspersed her comments about current food trends with a few fun recipes taken from "Not Fancy, Just Good Food," a cookbook created by OFBF.

"It’s important that we in agriculture understand the trends that drive the consumer," Cahill said. She cited:

• Convenience – 65 percent of consumers believe convenience foods cost less than the ingredients to make the same dish from scratch, and 46 percent believe the quality of convenience foods is better than that made from scratch. "And we’re willing to pay the price for that convenience," Cahill said.

• Consumption of hand-held foods is increasing – 59 percent of adults eat meals and snacks; 66 percent of snack food purchases are made on impulse. "What are the implications to agriculture? We need to be developing processes for our products that make them easy, fun and nutritious," she said.

• Make mine healthy – "functional foods" are more in style, Cahill said. Foods that offer health benefits in addition to nutrition are more in demand, she said. Purchases of energy bars have increased by 13 percent in the past year; Americans spent $6.3 billion on bottled water last year, she said. And vegetarianism is becoming more popular.

• Is it safe to eat? – 80 percent of Americans are concerned about food safety. "We have to develop partnerships that create a positive image to consumers about their food."

• Make mine ethnic – with the rise of the cable TV Food Network, more Americans are eating foods that are considered ethnic. Salsa has replaced ketchup as the number one condiment in American kitchens. The number of Mexican and Chinese restaurants grew by 26 percent in the 1990s.

"You need to become a spokesperson for agriculture," Cahill said. "The consumer holds your products in high regard; we need to capitalize on that trust. This is an exciting opportunity for agriculture."