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.
The holiday case is already being built
Cheese exports are on pace for a record year and holiday promotions are already in stores. We look at what that combination means for the case you're stocking…
Read postWhat the HACCP certificate covers
The Food Safety & HACCP Certificate isn't a rulebook to memorize. It's a way of writing down where your own process could actually fail.
Read postThe cheesemaker packing gift boxes by hand
A farmstead producer preparing her first big holiday gift-box season learns that wrapping and cutting well is its own kind of craft.
Read postThe import case is thinner this year
US cheese exports keep climbing while European supply stays tight, and members are asking the same question: what does that mean for the holiday case?
Read postThe producer testifying between milkings
A farmstead member in the upper Midwest has spent this fall writing testimony on a state aging-rule hearing between chores. We asked what keeps her doing it when…
Read postListeria risk in a busy cave
Holiday production ramps up traffic in and out of your cave right as the weather turns damp. That combination is exactly when Listeria risk climbs, and exactly when…
Read postThe hay bill behind your margin
Milk prices are still near record highs this fall, but a record feed bill and softening demand are eating the gain before it reaches your case. Here's what…
Read postThe comment period worth your ten minutes
A state agriculture committee is reviewing its raw-milk aging period rules this fall, and the federation is asking small-batch producers to weigh in before the window closes.
Read postWhat the cheese professional exam actually tests
The Certified Cheese Professional credential covers a wider range of the business than most members expect going in. Here's what's actually on it and who tends to pass…
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