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 the sensory certificate actually covers
Our Sensory Evaluation Certificate keeps coming up in member questions this fall. Here's what it actually tests, who it tends to suit, and what it doesn't replace.
Read postThe margin payment that keeps showing up
Feed costs have eased for the first time in over a year, but milk prices have fallen faster still, and the federal margin support program just triggered its…
Read postMember spotlight: the fastest we've seen through the credentials
A career-changer who joined the federation a year and a half ago has already cleared two of our seven credentials. We asked what's actually driving the pace.
Read postThe paperwork that decides if your wheel clears customs
Export Documentation Essentials walks through the health certificates, product codes, and cold-chain paperwork that stop a shipment at the border when they're missing or wrong.
Read postA quiet block price before a loud week in Chicago
Cash cheese markets barely moved to open October, but a major international dairy gathering lands in Chicago in two weeks and members are already asking what it means…
Read postThe apprentice building her first entry
An affinage apprentice at a small mountain creamery is putting together her first competition entry this fall, and second-guessing nearly every step of it.
Read postListeria control doesn't need a big budget
Listeria Control in Small Creameries is one of our most enrolled courses this year. Here is what it actually teaches, and why most of it is about habits,…
Read postA farm bill deadline slips
Federal lawmakers are on track to miss this week's farm bill deadline. Here is what that actually changes for members waiting on raw-milk aging rules and small-producer exemptions.
Read postThe exemption that's about to get smaller
A federal food-safety compliance deadline that touches small producers takes effect in early 2024. Our advocacy volunteers are hearing the same question on every call: does this apply…
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