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.
Opening weekend at the market stand
Farmers market season is opening across most regions this month. For members selling direct for the first time, or the fifth, a few things worth checking before your…
Read postMember spotlight: a quality manager's hard spring
A quality manager at a small farmstead creamery has watched her own hay bill start to outrun the cheese case. She told us what that's actually meant for…
Read postWhat the bulk-tank testing actually checks for
Federal bulk-tank surveillance for H5N1 has expanded to most dairy states this spring. Here is what it actually tests, what it doesn't, and where it touches your creamery.
Read postThe spring flush is here, and it's showing up in your spot price
Federal forecasters raised the 2025 milk production estimate again this month, and members are seeing it directly in softer spot milk prices even as cheese demand stays strong.
Read postThe market stand that's really a sales channel
Farmers market season is opening across most regions this month. Direct-to-Consumer & Farmers' Markets treats the stand as a channel with its own math, not a hobby on…
Read postTwo months out from Sacramento
The ICF Annual Conference lands in Sacramento on July 15. With two months to go, here's what's on the schedule and what to sort out now instead of…
Read postMember spotlight: the maker who cut the herd, not the line
Feed and energy costs pushed one farmstead member to a decision she didn't want to make this spring: fewer cows, the same cheese lineup. She told us why…
Read postRegistration opens for the annual conference
The ICF Annual Conference 2025 lands in Sacramento this July. Registration is open, and this year's schedule leans hard into the questions members have actually been asking us.
Read postThe export math getting harder to read
Retaliatory tariffs on three of the largest US dairy export markets are colliding with strong specialty demand overseas. For members who sell abroad, the two signals point in…
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