The public looks at more than nutrition when making food choices. It considers sustainability and the environment. And health advice increasingly comes from those who aren’t doctors. Technology and networking help the dairy industry disseminate information.

Associated Milk Producers Inc. announced today its president and CEO Ed Welch, resigned for personal reasons. Jim Wegner said he will retire in 2016 as President and CEO of the Northwest Dairy Association.
 

In its nearly 75-year history, The Dannon Co. has identified niches like digestive health and weight management and then developed yogurt-based solutions. Its stated mission, to bring health through food, starts with its employees and fans out across North America.

The multinational food giant Unilever has purchased Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, according to a Talenti press release issued today. 

G.S. Gelato & Desserts is expanding its production capabilities and is building a 25,000-square-foot warehouse. Sargento Foods Inc. hired Jeremy Behler as Vice President of Strategic Analysis.
 

In the 93nd Dairy Products Evaluation Contest, South Dakota State University won for the eighth consecutive time. Stephanie Brooks, representing the University of Tennessee, took individual honors. 

Swiss Valley Farms, the dairy cooperative based in Davenport, Iowa, said today it will invest $20.6 million to expand its cheese manufacturing facility in the northeast Iowa town of Luana. 

Today’s one-day summit at Ohio State University convenes experts from the public and private sectors to explore the current American diet and implications of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, called the nation’s foremost nutrition policy document.

The dairy industry is entering a “protracted” bear market, according to Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group.

The Dairy Index, an annual report by the global packaging and processing equipment supplier Tetra Pak, states that global demand for milk is set to surge by 36% in the next decade, largely due to population growth, rising prosperity and urbanization in Africa, Asia and Latin America.