great lakes dairy sheep symposium - the Department of Animal ...

Out of this allocation, the Dairy Business Innovation Center (DBIC) was created. The DBIC,
as a non-profit organization, attempts to help the industry develop new markets, new products,
and new processes. Clients range from small farmstead producers through some of Wisconsin’s
largest cooperative and private dairy manufacturers. The DBIC, a virtual center without
buildings or office space, contracts with state and national dairy consultants and partners to bring
expertise to approved clients. Among the DBIC partners are the Wisconsin Milk Marketing
Board (WMMB), the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, the UW-System, Wisconsin state
agencies (DATCP, Commerce, Tourism, etc) and the Center for Dairy Research. Further
information on the DBIC can be found at www.dbicusa.org.
An Overview of Challenges and Solutions Facing the Small-Scale Cheese Maker
Within the last sixty years, the cheese industry has witnessed enormous changes and
challenges both in Europe and the United States, and none has been more adversely affected than
the small-scale cheese producer.
When it comes to cheese, the U.S. has traditionally looked to Europe for inspiration.
However, the European cheese industry has faced tremendous challenges and changes over the
last sixty years and as a result, the U.S. can learn from European mistakes and successes. Whilst
Europe – and in particular the U.K. and France – have been primarily concerned with preserving
the traditions of farmhouse cheese production, the U.S. is trying to establish those traditions.
In the U.K., many factors contributed to the decline of the traditional farmhouse cheese: the
consequences of two world wars, subsequent changes in agricultural policy, the industrialization
of agriculture, and the disappearance of the specialty retailer and cheese store led to near
obliteration of small-scale cheese production. Equally worrying, was the parallel decline of the
specialty knowledge needed to produce and sell such cheeses.
By the mid-1980’s, the farmhouse cheese industry in the U.K. was in crisis. Traditional
British cheeses had all but disappeared and had been replaced by factory-produced versions,
carrying the same name but bearing no resemblance to the original thing. Unlike France or Italy,
the UK has no AOC/DOP system designed to protect the names or recipes of specialist cheeses.
For example in 1939, there were 405 on-farm producers of Cheshire. By 1986, there was one
producer - the Appleby family - remaining.
However, despite this bleak picture, there was hope. It came in the form of a small group of
people, spearheaded by Randolph Hodgson at Neals Yard Dairy, who were determined to
prevent these producers from becoming extinct. In the early days, the key to success lay in
establishing a knowledgeable retail and wholesale outlet that could handle and sell farmhouse
cheese. The crucial part lay in establishing a close working relationship between store and
producer, providing them with feedback, paying them a fair price (and on time) and selling their
cheeses to the end consumer in the condition that the producer would wish it to be sold. The net
result of all this was that the producer was left to do the thing that they do best – make cheese.
The other crucial role of these stores was to provide an educational platform for the public and to
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