FLW Outdoors, Land O’Lakes reach multiyear extension of sponsorship program

Arden Hills, Minn., dairy producer to sponsor all nine FLW Outdoors tournament trails

MINNEAPOLIS – FLW Outdoors announced Friday that Land O’Lakes, the nation’s No. 1 marketer of branded butter and deli cheese, has extended its sponsorship with America’s largest and most prestigious fishing-tournament organization.

In 2006, Land O’Lakes will sponsor all of the FLW Outdoors tournament trails, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and the new Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series.

As a core sponsor, Land O’Lakes remains at the helm of one of the most prestigious awards the sport of competitive angling has to offer – the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title. The celebrated honor is awarded annually to the world’s best and most consistent professional bass angler. In 2005, the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title was awarded to FLW Tour pro Greg Hackney.

“Land O’Lakes values its relationship with FLW Outdoors and Wal-Mart and looks forward to another great season of exciting fishing action,” said Barry Wolfish, vice president of Land O’Lakes. “We enjoy helping to bring family-friendly fun to Wal-Mart customers and Land O’Lakes consumers across America.”

As an FLW Outdoors sponsor, Land O’Lakes will be featured in a variety of media formats, including the high-profile “Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors” TV program on FSN (Fox Sports Net), FLW Outdoors Magazine and FLWOutdoors.com. The Land O’Lakes brand will also be publicized through signage at tournaments and through inclusion in tour promotional and public relations materials.

Through the years, Land O’Lakes has enhanced its FLW Outdoors sponsorship by establishing a team of professional anglers. In 2006, Land O’Lakes will once again field a superior angling team that spans all four FLW Outdoors species, including bass, walleye, kingfish and redfish.

Irwin L. Jacobs, chairman of FLW Outdoors, said loyal sponsors such as Land O’Lakes enable the sport to continue its rapid growth.

“We’re grateful to our long-term sponsors like Land O’Lakes who help raise the exposure of competitive angling,” Jacobs said. “Our seven-year partnership has been extremely successful, and we are excited with what the future holds.”

Land O’Lakes Inc. (www.landolakesinc.com) is a national farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of more than $7 billion. Land O’Lakes does business in all 50 states and more than 50 countries and provides agricultural training and technical assistance in more than 30 developing nations. It is a leading marketer of a full line of dairy-based consumer, foodservice and food ingredient products across the United States; serves its international customers with a variety of food and animal feed ingredients; and provides farmers and ranchers with an extensive line of agricultural supplies (feed, seed, crop nutrients and crop protection products) and services.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page.

For more information about FLW Outdoors tournaments, browse this Web site or call (270) 252-1000.