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.
Two milk prices, one confusing summer
Class III and Class IV milk prices have pulled apart this month, and a federal food-box program is only part of why cheese demand looks so uneven right…
Read postJudging a cheese through a screen
Competition judging depends on being in a room with the cheese. This year that's not always possible, and it's changing how the Competition Judge Accreditation credential gets used.
Read postWhat your cave wants when it's hot outside
A small maturation room fights harder against outside heat than a big one does. Practical notes on holding temperature and humidity through a hot stretch, tied to our…
Read postWhat goes on a label this summer
Curbside pickup and direct-to-consumer boxes have put unfamiliar packaging in front of members this year. Here's the labeling advocacy work underway and what to check before you print.
Read postTasting a wheel from your own kitchen
Sensory evaluation was built around a shared room and a shared set of samples. Our Sensory Evaluation Certificate is adapting to a spring when that room isn't available…
Read postA swab schedule that survives a shift change
Environmental monitoring only works if it happens on schedule, and a lot of small creameries have rebuilt their staffing twice since March. Our Listeria Control course starts with…
Read postThe exemption question nobody has answered yet
A federal food-safety compliance date is still on the calendar for late July. We're asking regulators for clarity on how a pandemic year affects small-producer exemption thresholds.
Read postThe buyer who started cold-calling grocers
A regional wholesale rep who spent a decade selling to restaurants lost most of her book in March. She rebuilt it by learning to sell to grocery buyers…
Read postWhat a make sheet catches that your memory doesn't
Our make-sheet fundamentals course opens today. Here's why the members who never skip a record are usually the ones who catch a bad batch early.
Read post