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 milk alternatives mean for your label
A federal comment period on plant-based labeling has members asking what the word 'milk' actually protects. It's less about competitors and more about your own label.
Read postTwo dates worth circling before summer
An export paperwork webinar and a hands-on competition-prep workshop both land in June. Here's why each is worth clearing an hour or a day for.
Read postThe buyer who started tasting blind
A retail buyer got tired of picking favorites by producer name. This spring she started tasting every submission blind, and it changed what makes it onto her shelf.
Read postA softer spring for wholesale cheese prices
Wholesale cheddar prices have been sliding for weeks. Here's what that softening means for makers, buyers, and anyone watching their margin this spring.
Read postThe member who calls the new ones
One longtime member spends an hour most weeks calling brand-new members before they've been asked to renew anything, just to see how the first month is going.
Read postWhat a spring swab schedule should catch
Rising cave humidity in spring is exactly when environmental monitoring programs catch problems or miss them, and the course covering it fills up every year.
Read postThe raw-milk map keeps shifting
State raw-milk rules keep diverging while federal interstate limits hold steady, and members selling across state lines need to track both before they ship.
Read postThe aging clock nobody quite agrees on
The federal minimum aging period for raw-milk cheese keeps coming up for review, and it never quite resolves. Here's where the debate stands and how members are weighing…
Read postA credential built for the counter
Certified Cheesemonger is our counter-side credential, built around cutting, storage, and customer conversation rather than make-room skills. Here's who it's actually for.
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