Blog
Certification, education, advocacy, events, industry news and the members behind them — written by the Federation, for the people who make, age, sell and buy the cheese.
What a derecho does to a make sheet
A storm that flattened corn and silos across the Midwest lands on top of an already soft block market, and members are already asking what it means for…
Read postWhat our first virtual conference actually taught us
Two weeks out from the ICF Annual Conference 2020, the numbers and the feedback are in. Here's what worked, what didn't, and what's still on the calendar this…
Read postPricing when the board can't make up its mind
The commodity board just swung a dollar in three weeks. If your own price sheet is chasing it, this week's Pricing & Margin course is worth your evening.
Read postThe cheese case just gave back the summer
Block cheese fell from a record high to its lowest point since May in three weeks. Here is what actually moved, and what it means for your wholesale…
Read postThe creamery that stopped waiting on wholesale
One small-batch member watched two-thirds of her wholesale accounts go quiet this spring and rebuilt her week around a farm stand and a mailing list instead.
Read postKeeping the cave cool when the room around it isn't
Late-July heat pushes small aging rooms toward trouble in ways a spec sheet doesn't warn you about. A look at what actually goes wrong, and the course built…
Read postThe cheese case that rebuilt itself
Wholesale cheese crashed toward a dollar a pound in April and climbed to record territory by summer. We look at what that round trip actually did to members.
Read postWhen nobody is coming to inspect you
Routine facility inspections have been paused for months. Members are asking what that means for their food safety obligations, and the honest answer is: they haven't changed at…
Read postThe farm-stand course nobody scheduled
Direct sales have carried many small producers through this year almost by accident. Our Direct-to-Consumer & Farmers' Markets course exists to make the next stretch less accidental.
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