CheeseCon, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) and the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) announced its educational lineup for the event, which takes place April 15 to 17 in Madison, Wis.

The first full day of the conference kicks off on Wednesday, April 16 with an Opening Keynote Panel: Mastering Change Management in Dairy's Evolving Environment. As the pace of change in our industry quickens, hear directly from leaders in transition, as they share actionable strategies to balance vision with agility, harnessing the power of emerging technology, building inclusive culture, and navigating dynamic markets and politics. Betty Thompson, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Society for Human Resource Management, offers change management strategies and tools, complemented by a panel of dairy industry leaders featuring Heather Anfang, President of Dairy Foods, EVP at Land O' Lakes Inc.; Bob Sarver, President and CEO of Great Lakes Cheese; and David Scharfman, VP of Growth at Specialty Cheese Co. 

Following the Opening Keynote, attendees can explore a variety of thought-provoking breakout sessions: 

• WCMA and CDR host Cutting Edge Opportunities in Wastewater Processing and End Products. Treating wastewater from dairy processing offers challenges in capturing and managing nutrients as well as opportunities in capturing and managing nutrients. As options narrow for land and waterway application of treated water, learn how new technology is discovering novel solutions and opportunities to enhance treatment and harness “waste” nutrients as useful end products. 

• In CDR's Cheese Defects: New Approaches to Address Defect Challenges, join renowned cheese technologists and scientists as they offer an overview of common cheese defects and their causes, discuss avoiding flavor and texture defects in commodity cheeses and describe the use of genomic sequencing techniques to help solve defects. Attendees will also learn about anti-fungal compounds derived from dairy as well as making cheese from very-high-casein milk. 

• Join WCMA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy for Unpacking Carbon Footprints: A Value Chain Approach to Advancing Dairy Sustainability. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a critical sustainability topic for many industries, including U.S. dairy. As a result, stakeholders increasingly expect companies to measure, disclose, and manage their GHG footprints. Join a panel of dairy industry and processor experts to explore carbon footprinting across the farm, plant, and product levels. Gain insights into the latest guidance, methodologies, and resources from The Climate Source and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and how they support dairy companies on their decarbonization journeys.   

Following the WCMA Recognition Breakfast exclusively sponsored by dsm-firmenich on Thursday, April 17, keep the learning going with five fascinating seminar offerings: 

• Innovative Uses for Whey and Whey Permeate, hosted by CDR, explores new areas of study including using whey permeate to generate higher value products by bio fermentation and novel extraction of bioactives from dairy coproducts. Researchers will discuss characterizing the properties of sweet whey powder using rheology and approaches to improve the solubility of high-protein milk powder. 

• The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy offers Industry Advances in In-Plant Food Safety Measures, designed for dairy food safety professionals. Innovation Center has built successful industry teams to advance key food safety goals including foreign material control, pathogen control in brines, and advanced genomics testing for environmental monitoring. Join your peers for updates and resources in each of these cutting-edge product safety areas. 

• Join WCMA for Sustainable Trade: Exploring the Nexus of Sustainability and Dairy Exports. Sustainability initiatives are increasingly shaping the landscape of international trade. For U.S. dairy exporters, aligning with evolving market expectations and regulatory frameworks is essential to drive growth and maintain competitiveness. In this session, hear from national trade and sustainability experts about how evolving trade policies, customer expectations and sustainability certifications are shaping the future of dairy exports. 

• In WCMA’s Dairy Grading and Evaluation Workshop led by Championship Cheese Contest Chief Judge Jim Mueller, nationally recognized cheese evaluators will lead attendees through the process of examining, tasting and evaluating the quality of ten cheese styles. Learn the steps in professional grading, the nomenclature of flavor, texture and body defects, and scoring systems used in regulatory and competition grading. 

• An Interactive Workshop for Specialty Cheesemakers, on-site at CDR’s cutting-edge facility in Madison and exclusively for artisan and specialty cheesemakers, this workshop will focus on specialty cheese ripening and aging, food safety, and insights into equipment and ripening rooms used in processing. Space is limited to 25 participants, so artisans should act quickly to add this special offering to their registration. A $50 fee includes the workshop, lunch and transportation to/from CDR. 

 “We're pleased to partner with CDR to once again bring together the brightest minds in dairy. These leaders are set to share the latest insights and ideas on the topics that matter most to today’s dairy manufacturers and processors. From sustainability and exporting to food safety and product quality and much more, CheeseCon covers it all,” said John Umhoefer, WCMA Executive Director.