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.
Member spotlight: two numbers, one ledger
One member's fall ledger has a rising grain bill and a milk check that just started recovering, and she's learning to read both before she decides anything.
Read postThe credential worth starting with
Members keep asking where to begin. The Cheese Foundations Certificate is the answer, and fall is when most of our new counter hires and career-changers sign up.
Read postThe margin squeeze nobody saw coming in August
Feed prices rallied hard in late August just as milk prices were finally recovering, and that combination is tightening margins for members heading into fall.
Read postMember spotlight: the monger two months from her exam
A counter manager studying for her Certified Cheesemonger exam told us the hardest part isn't the tasting, it's finding an hour a day when the shop is this…
Read postWhat a longer clock buys your farm shop
The compliance date for expanded traceability recordkeeping just got pushed back more than two years, and our September workshop on farm shop retail is built around what to…
Read postThe standards nobody reads until they're gone
A proposal to strike a batch of old cheese labeling standards from the books is open for comment through mid-September, and most members haven't looked at it yet.
Read postThe exemption question nobody wants to lose
A federal traceability rule just picked up more runway before it takes effect, and the small-producer exemption inside it is exactly what our comment should protect.
Read postWhat it takes to judge the competition
Competition Judge Accreditation isn't just for people who want a seat on next year's judging panel. Here's what the credential covers and who actually uses it.
Read postThe deli case is changing
Specialty cheese is up sharply at the deli case this year while American cheese slides, and the varieties driving it aren't the ones most makers expect.
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