News & Notes
Drake elected first ADSA woman president
With the symbolic passing of a ribbon, Mary Ann Drake became the first woman president in the 101-year history of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). Outgoing president, Gary Hartwell, passed the presidential ribbon in a ceremony last July at the annual ADSA meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Drake is an associate professor in the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Department of Food Science (recently renamed the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutritional Sciences). She serves as director of the NCSU Sensory Service Center, the DMI Pilot Sensory Lab, and is an active investigator in the Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center. Her research program is focused on flavor and flavor chemistry of dairy products, and she is credited with developing universal lexicons to describe and document these attributes with sensory analysis. Other research in her lab focuses on how flavor varies with processing and storage of dairy products. In the past year, the DMI Pilot Sensory Lab has worked with 15 companies and four universities in addition to doing work for DMI and the U.S. Dairy Exports Council.
Rascal Flatts Says, ‘Milk Rocks!’
Country music group Rascal Flatts is backing the Milk Rocks! campaign and will offer fans a chance to sing with them live onstage. The “Be a milk rock star” push, part of the broader Milk Rocks! public service effort, promotes health and nutrition and was created by MilkMedia, which designs milk carton side panels and lunchroom posters in more than 95,000 elementary, middle and high schools across the country. The band will pre-record messages to fans explaining contest rules as well as nutritional facts about milk, which can be seen on milk cartons, school lunchroom posters and a Web site prior to the live concert. A MilkMedia representative said impressions expected to be as high as 1 billion views. For more information, visit www.milkrocks.com.
Double-digit growth for area cheese makers
Surge in demand puts local artisans in expansion mode
Rising demand for artisan products is floating all boats among North Bay cheese makers, with local producers reporting double-digit growth in sales and many building larger facilities.
The surge of new artisan cheeses and yogurts coming from the area is acting as a counterweight to dwindling herds, as a smaller volume of milk is being used to make higher-value products.
Among the many artisans, Marin French Cheese has been operating there for 143 years. The oldest cheese maker in the United States is also in expansion mode, according to technical operations manager Alex Borgo.
“We’ve applied for permits to build a new curing room. We’d like to double or even triple production during the next year,” he said.
Last year, the Petaluma Sheraton was the site of the first Artisan Cheese Festival. Coordinated by dairy industry leader Lynne Devereaux, the festival drew attendees from as far away as Toronto and was a runaway success.
Can an industry that touts small-batch production expand successfully?
“That’s the challenge,” said Devereaux. “We’re at a critical turning point. We must maintain artisan quality while increasing quantity to meet demand.”
This story, by Loralee Stevens, was excerpted from an article that appeared in the Dec. 10, 2007, North Bay Business Journal.
