Clearly the winter is drawing to a close, because the snow is melting and there is a whole heck of a lot going on at the American Cheese Society these days. On to Spring!

Let's start with ACS's recent member-exclusive FDA/Health Canada webinar on the Draft Assessment of the Risk of Listeriosis from Soft-Ripened Cheese Consumption. It was terrific to see a great level of participation across all sectors of our membership, plus senior members of FDA and Health Canada. As ACS's dedicated Academic & Regulatory Committee works with our staff to draft a formal comment on the risk assessment, the input we received via the webinar was quite helpful. We will share our formal comment with members as soon as it's published, and we'll also encourage you to provide additional, constructive comments to our regulators that underscore our industry's dedication to producing safe, high-quality cheese. ACS is actively reaching out to other industry organizations like the International Dairy Foods Association, Cheese Importers Association of America, and the Specialty Food Association (formerly NASFT), to find common ground and identify areas where we can work together to shape change.

In addition to the aforementioned webinar, we're offering a number of "news you can use" educational programs in the coming months that underscore ACS's commitment to providing members with year-round support and benefits. This is a reflection of the dedication of our staff and highly engaged volunteers who are raising the bar to help members face the challenges of a dynamic industry. Stay tuned for more information, and please participate whenever you can. Have an idea for a program you would like to see, or even produce? Reach out to the ACS office.

As we shift into spring, it's also time to think conference. Our 30th Anniversary Conference will be held in beautiful Madison, WI from July 31-August 3. Plan on arriving in Madison ready for a first-class program which is being assembled by a team led by co-chairs Jeanne Carpenter, Sara Hill, and Bob Wills. We are looking forward to an unprecedented number of tours, our largest Judging & Competition yet, the 2nd Annual Certified Cheese Professional™ Exam, and a jam-packed program of education and celebration. Thirty years is no small milestone, and we hope you'll join us to reflect, enjoy the moment, and look to new horizons "in a dairy state of mind"! 

Now, I'm off to celebrate the High Holy Days of Saint Patrick with a stout and some bandaged cheddar. If you celebrate, please do so safely!

As always, let us know how we can continue to improve your ACS membership experience, and thanks for being a part of our work. 

Greg O'Neill
President

St. Patrick's Day is a great time to go green -- not just sipping a green beer, but thinking of ways to minimize your carbon footprint, recycle and reuse, explore alternative energy options, and minimize waste. Even small steps can have a big impact. Share ways that your business is "going green" by emailing us at info@cheesesociety.org, and we'll share your ideas with other ACS members.  

ACS member John Stueland is going green in a big way to get to our conference in Madison this summer. He'll be riding his bike from Minneapolis to Madison -- that's nearly 270 miles! Once in Madison, everyone can go green: we've coordinated with Madison B-Cycle for ACS conference attendees to receive discounted bicycle rentals, so you can zip around town for just $3 per day for segments of 30 minutes or less.

Wisconsin-area members will be able to lower their carbon footprint even further by hand-delivering competition cheeses to Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison. We love to have cheesemakers stop by and say "hi" while dropping off their precious creations. And, while the competition itself is still months away, the call for entries is right around the corner. On April 8, cheesemakers will be able to enter cheeses on our website for our 2013 Judging & Competition. If you want to learn more about how to enter and ship your cheeses, as well as the judging process, don't miss our free Judging & Competition Tutorial webinar on April 3 at 9:30 AM MT. We wish all our competition cheesemakers the luck of the Irish!

Nora Weiser
Executive Director

Regulatory News & Updates 

FDA Seeks Public Comment on Product Tracing Pilot Projects Report 

Don't Miss Your Chance to become Certified!

Apply for the 2013 CCP™ Exam by March 31   

Spaces for the Certified Cheese Professional™ Exam are 85% filled! If you plan to take the exam on July 31 in Madison, WI, submit your application and the $35 application fee as soon as possible. Applications and fees are due March 31.

ACS Launches CCP™ Authorized Educator Program    

Authorized educators will receive permission to use the ACS CCP Authorized Education Center / Educator / or Corporate Trainer designation and ACS CCP Exam logo in marketing materials promoting relevant educational programs, plus: 

• Premier placement in the ACS online educator directory;
• Inclusion in official correspondence between ACS and exam-takers;
• Authorization to teach to ACS Body of Knowledge domains, and to market relevant courses accordingly; 
• Priority notifications when changes or revisions to the ACS Body of Knowledge are made.

Program applicants must have an ACS CCP on staff, with the exception of organizations that qualify for a special exemption. Get more details online, including application guidelines and requirements, special exemptions, and licensing fees.

Congratulations! 2013 Official Conference Cheesemongers   

Leah McFadden

ACS is pleased to to announce its 2013 Official Conference Cheesemongers, Jason Herbert of Whole Foods Market in Deerfield, IL and Leah McFadden of Whole Foods Market in Santa Clara, CA. Jason and Leah are both members of the first class of ACS Certified Cheese Professionals. 

This year, ACS received a record number of applications from many qualified candidates who were interested in working closely with the many different cheeses that are featured in conference sessions and special events.  

Jason Herbert

Visit our website to learn more about Jason and Leah, and the Official Conference Cheesemonger program.  

Are you interested in becoming an ACS Official Conference Cheesemonger in 2014? Consider volunteering with Jason and Leah in Madison to learn more about their roles and responsibilities. Those interested in volunteering should contact Jana Hemphill via email or at 720-328-2788.

Congratulations to Jason and Leah! We look forward to working with you both in the coming months! 

From the Member Services Desk: Shipping Discounts  

Each month, in this new feature, you'll learn about a great ACS benefit available to members. Be sure to get the most out of your ACS membership by taking advantage of these valuable, educational, and money-saving benefits.

The PartnerShip FedEx shipping program offers discounted shipping rates to ACS members: up to 26% off FedEx small package shipping rates, up to 70% off LTL freight shipments over 200 pounds, and additional discounts on tradeshow shipping.   

Signing up for this free program is simple. You can fill out an online form at www.PartnerShip.com/98ACS or contact me at jhemphill@cheesesociety.org, and I will send you the information you'll need to sign up.

PartnerShip links to your existing FedEx account, so you'll automatically receive your discounts. If you're enrolled in another FedEx discount program, the best deal for each package will be selected for you. Once you're enrolled with PartnerShip, you'll receive a yearly update on how much you've saved. That's all there is to it!

Mark Your Calendar! Conference Registration Opens May 6 

The 2013 ACS Conference is presented with Marquee Sponsor Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Registration for ACS 30th Anniversary: In a Dairy State of Mind, the 2013 ACS Conference & Competition, will open on Monday, May 6. Mark your calendar to ensure that you can take advantage of the lowest registration rates. "Early Bird" rates of $485 for members and $684 for non-members will be available from May 6 through May 22. Starting May 23, rates will increase to $595 for members and $794 for non-members. Register early to enjoy the best rates! 

Visit our website regularly for conference updates, including a sneak peek of this year's educational program, and a preview of the Opening Keynote by celebrated chef Odessa Piper. Information about discounted hotel rates for ACS members will also be posted in the coming weeks.

We look forward to seeing you in Madison!    

Judging & Competition News:

Cheese Categories -- Making the Math Work

Every Thursday, the ACS Judging & Competition Committee comes together for a conference call to discuss logistics, challenges and goals for the up-and-coming ACS Judging & Competition. Much of our February calls were taken up by two important topics. The first was the selection of judges. Based on last year's number of entries and the estimated number of cheeses we expect to receive in Madison, we settled on 19 teams. To give some perspective, in 2006, we had 12 teams of judges and only 941 cheeses. This year's number of entries will likely double that mark, and we readily accept that challenge.

The second, and most dramatic discussion, was on the review and restructuring of the competition categories. As you know, each year, small tweaks and modifications have to be made to categories so that cheesemakers better understand how to enter their cheeses and can feel assured that each entry correctly fits into its proper description and category. This year, committee member and chair emeritus, John Greeley, proposed something that was perceived as radical to much of the committee: As one of the early architects of category assignments, his observation was that the judging teams were being overwhelmed by some of the larger categories. Modifications on a grander scale were in order.

So, the biggest change that you'll see this year is the pooling of all of the cheeses with "Flavor Added" into category "K." This is one of the largest-growing categories

The 2013 ACS Judging & Competition is sponsored by Atlanta Foods International

for ACS in the last few years. Moving these cheeses under one umbrella gives us the ability to not only better manage the category but to have the entries judged in an even more equitable manner.

Read more about changes to the 2013 entry categories.   

Member Profile: Cheese CSAs  

With the growing popularity of Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) in the United States, many cheesemakers are partnering with local farms to offer a supplemental cheese CSA.

Each CSA works a little differently, but the basics are that farmers offer "shares" to the public. Those who are interested purchase a share prior to the season's start and in return receive a box of local produce each week throughout the farming season.

Dreamfarm, a producer of goat cheese in Cross Plains, Wisconsin, has partnered with Vermont Valley Community Farms' CSA since 2003. "I was working for them at the time on the vegetable farm," says Diana Murphy, owner of Dreamfarm. The owners of Vermont Valley Community Farms approached Diana and asked if she would be interested in having her goat cheese as a supplement to their vegetable share. Since her cheese was only for personal consumption at the time, Diana spent two years pursuing her cheesemaker's license before the partnership began.

Dreamfarm does a 4-week spring delivery CSA with two deliveries per CSA member. Shareholders receive their cheese share during weeks 1 and 3 or weeks 2 and 4. In the summer, Dreamfarm has a 20-week CSA with 10 deliveries per member. This year, Dreamfarm has around 120-140 shareholders, and Diana estimates that approximately 20% of their cheese sales comes from CSA shares...(read more)