Chobani, Norwich, N.Y.,announced on Nov. 16 that it is exporting its Greek yogurt to Australia and Canada. Earlier in the month, it announced plans to build a $100 million state-of-the-art, high-capacity production facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, on 200 acres of agricultural and industrial land. It has a plant in South Edmeston, N.Y.

The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Washington, D.C., announced the winners of the 2011 MilkPEP awards. Six category winners and an overall grand prize winner were honored for their commitment to increasing fluid milk sales, promoting the benefits of drinking milk and their use of MilkPEP programs and resources to help increase awareness and sales of their dairies’ branded milk products.

When European food makers speak about the potential for their products in the United States, their pupils dilate, they salivate and their hearts race. Take yogurt, for example. Here, we eat 12.8 pounds per person per year. In parts of Europe, annual consumption is as high as 60 pounds per person. Canadians also eat more yogurt than Americans. Per capita consumption was about 22.2 pounds in 2011. If the U.S. just reached Canadian proportions, it would mean nearly doubling the category, which today is valued at approximately $5.5 billion, according to Dannon.

Auglaize County is a prosperous agricultural region in west central Ohio where the median household income is about $52,000 and the poverty rate is 7%, well below the state’s level of 14%. One town in the county is Minster, located about 50 miles north of Dayton. It was settled in 1832 by German immigrants. Minster’s town crest reflects the heritage of its founding fathers. The crest includes a Christian cross and two pagan symbols important to Saxons — an acorn and horse heads. A fourth symbol is a canal boat.

Westby Cooperative Creamery, Westby, Wis., moved into a new distribution center and offices. It broke ground on the project in September 2011. The distribution center totals 10,000 square feet of refrigerated warehouse space for manufactured dairy food products. It holds 1,000 pallet spaces in five-high racking. The office area contains 6,000 square feet of space.

Back in 1997, the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments began making the case for a voluntary dairy food safety program called HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). This program remains an internationally accepted, science-based system for ensuring food safety controls. At the time, the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance  was doing the heavy lifting on dairy safety.

Artisan. It’s a beautiful word, one that conjures up green pastures, vineyards on Tuscan hills and weathered hands shaping cheese.

All Star Dairy Association continues to exhibit strength and leadership with membership and volume growth. Even during the lingering weak economy and continued industry consolidation, All Star is expanding once again in sales, supplier offerings, service programs and especially savings to its members.