Every few days or so, I come across a dairy industry-related news item that stands out among all the standard PR about acquisitions, plant upgrades, personnel changes, marketing campaigns and regulatory happenings. Whether that news is sad, funny or simply bizarre, it generally is excluded from our regular online coverage.

You won't find any fancy-looking equipment at the creamery operated by Phoenix-based Danzeisen Dairy LLC. Tucked into a mixture of farm, industrial and residential properties in Phoenix's Laveen neighborhood, the creamery relies on retrofitted vintage milk processing equipment, much of it from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and all of it from U.S. manufacturers, to produce its craft dairy products.

About a decade ago, Greek yogurt was the game-changer in the U.S. cultured products space. But newer cultured dairy products are now providing some competition, and adding excitement to the dairy case.

A growing number of food and beverage processors claim to be part of the local food movement. But for many of them, the definition of "local" is a bit of a stretch.

When it comes to cheese trends with staying power for 2018, think all natural, artisanal and organic. Those are the top three cheese-related trends, according to Dairy Foods' 2018 Cheese Outlook Study.

Wisconsin produces more cheese than any other state, making more than 3 billion pounds of the savory dairy favorite in 2016 alone, according to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

The tired and lethargic among America's population have been a boon to the U.S. energy drink category.

In a February opinion post on TheHill.com titled "Is Dairy the new tobacco?", Gene Baur, president and cofounder of Farm Sanctuary, suggested the dairy industry has many negatives in common with the tobacco industry.

Going into 2018, the global dairy industry is looking at a number of challenges. On the commodity side, lower pricing, thanks to an oversupply of skim milk powder, particularly in the European Union (EU), and weakened demand in the fourth quarter certainly have been concerns, said Thomas Bailey, senior dairy analyst for Rabobank, a global cooperative bank.

Emmi Roth could be described as the Apple Inc. of the cheese-making world. Like Apple, especially in its early days, the Fitchburg, Wis. based company is willing to innovate and take risks in its quest to create unique, high-quality products.