Jim Carper, Editor-in-Chief

Dairy processors should promote milk as a nutrient-dense protein choice

Consumers are exploring plant-based protein options. Dairy processors have to demonstrate why their foods are the better, more nutrient-dense choice.

James Carper

October 7, 2016

One size fits all never works. Dairies understand that consumers want options. That’s why milk processors offer the four fats (whole, 2%, 1% and nonfat), ice cream makers churn no-sugar-added varieties and cheesemakers cut their products into slices, chunks and shreds.

Ford drives innovation at Land O'Lakes

James Carper

October 5, 2016

Beth Ford, the chief operating officer of the largest dairy co-op in the United States, talks about developing new cheese, butter and dessert products, and investing in manufacturing plants.

The workplace

Land O’Lakes rolls out the welcome mat to millennials

More than half of the workforce at Land O’Lakes is in the millennial generation. They see the dairy co-op as an attractive and exciting place to work.

James Carper

September 22, 2016

Dairy cooperative Land O’Lakes attracts employees who believe in agriculture and a mission of feeding a growing population, says COO Beth Ford. She elaborates in our All Things Dairy podcast.

Litehouse CEO Jim Frank speaks with Dairy Foods in this 2016 interview

Exclusive interview

Dairy Foods interviews Litehouse CEO Jim Frank

Litehouse CEO Frank talks to Dairy Foods about the challenges of heading an employee-owned business; achieving SQF Level 3 certification; and growth plans.

James Carper

September 13, 2016

Litehouse Inc. President and CEO Jim Frank is the first nonfamily member to head the Idaho-based manufacturer of refrigerated salad dressings and blue-veined cheeses. In this interview, he talks about the challenges of running this employee-owned dairy business.

Conveying systems help move dairy products efficiently through the plant

Conveying systems and palletizing systems move ingredients and finished products nonstop.

James Carper

September 12, 2016

Conveyors move raw materials and finished products through a dairy plant. After filling, packages might travel to secondary packaging stations, to freezers, to warehouses and to pallets.

Olympic dairy marketing, U.S. cheese surplus & more in dairy industry

James Carper

September 9, 2016

The world was turned upside last month for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s winter south of the Equator where Brazil hosted the summer Olympics. That gave me a different perspective on current events.

Inside Litehouse plant: How blue cheese gets dressed in Idaho

Litehouse makes award-winning blue cheese and buttermilk at separate plants in Sandpoint, Idaho, then combines them at a third to make its best-selling refrigerated salad dressings.

James Carper

September 6, 2016

Ed Hawkins invented a blue cheese buttermilk salad dressing that he served in his steakhouse. When customers asked if they could buy a bottle to take home, he knew it was a hit.

Dairies invest to keep up with demand

A Dairy Foods survey finds that 60% of dairy executives plan to buy processing equipment in 2017.

James Carper

September 2, 2016

With raw milk prices low and demand for cheese, yogurt and other dairy foods high, America’s dairy processors are opening up their checkbooks to buy new equipment. A survey by BNP Market Research (Dairy Foods’ research arm) found that 56% of dairy processors are buying equipment this year and 60% plan to buy in 2017.

Category captain

Blue cheese and salad dressing producer Litehouse shines with opportunities

Idaho-based Litehouse Inc. makes award-winning blue cheeses, yogurt and buttermilk. The employee-owned dairy processor uses these ingredients in its top-selling line of refrigerated salad dressings.

James Carper

September 1, 2016

The city of Sandpoint (population 7,500) is in the skinny part of Idaho, wedged between Washington and Montana, and about an hour south of the Canadian border. Sandpoint is the seat of Bonner County which, at 1,920 square miles, is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island. When the Dixie Chicks sing of “Wide Open Spaces,” they could be referring to this part of Idaho.

The 2016 Dairy 100 go shopping

Though some dairies saw sales fall last year, others reported increases. As they looked at the long-term prospects of the industry, businesses opened their checkbooks to acquire companies and to expand their processing capabilities.

James Carper

August 17, 2016

Just as Dairy Foods was wrapping up its research into the 100 largest dairy processors in North America, the French dairy giant Danone announced it was buying Colorado-based WhiteWave Foods, a processor of organic dairy and plant-based beverages.