With new executives in some top 10 companies, new partnerships, and one company emerging from bankruptcy, the U.S. dairy industry is in some ways starting fresh

Sometimes it's just nice to sort through the random thoughts drawer and come up with a list of opportunities, accomplishments and pleasant surprises:

Shamrock Farms, Phoenix, has for years maintained a reputation as an innovative dairy company in terms of processes, product and package. One of its latest innovations reflects a subtle evolution in the realm of dairy packaging.

Private label grocery products are bigger and better than ever. Two recent indicators help prove it. Florida-based Publix has gotten a lot of attention recently for its expansive line of store brands.

ORRVILLE, Ohio-In the Buckeye State and neighboring markets, Ruggles premium brand ice cream is well known, and is closely associated with its maker Smith Dairy Products Inc., a family-owned independent based in Orrville.

Spring came early in Chicago this year, and as of this writing, the baseball season is just a couple weeks old, so spring is still filled with promise.

Mateo Kehler and Jed Davis inhabit different planets in the cheese galaxy.
Kehler is a co-founder of Jasper Hill Farm, where cheese is made by hand from the milk of 35 Ayrshire cows. Davis works for Cabot/McCadam, the processing subsidiary of Agri-Mark Inc., cooperative. That operation sold $760 million worth of cheese and other dairy products in 2004. Nonetheless, 38-lb Cheddar wheels from Cabot's Montpelier, Vt. plant are traveling a couple counties over to Jasper Hill in Greensboro, where Kehler wraps them in cloth and places them on wooden shelves in an underground cheese cave. There they will age anywhere from 10 to 18 months to develop rich, complex flavors and textures.

When consumers look to satisfy their cravings for ice cream this year they will find more great-tasting light and better-for-you choices than ever. They will also find convenience, with bite-sized frozen dessert forms that allow real on-the-go enjoyment.

There's a certain late night talk show that features a nightly top 10 list focusing on various minutia of news, politics and pop culture.

TYLER, Texas—In the Texas-Louisiana Gulf area, the Goldenbrook Farms brand is well known as the premium private label brand for Brookshire Grocery Co. Recently Brookshire's customers have found a new line of yogurt and sour cream bearing the Goldenbrook brand.