Jim Carper, Editor-in-Chief

Free-standing inserts

Dole shakes things up in this week's free-standing inserts

James Carper

April 16, 2012

Dole introduces a yogurt smoothie kit and Whitewave Foods launches a nondairy fruit and protein beverage.

Weekly news round-up

Jim Carper's Dairy Case

James Carper

April 13, 2012

A weekly round-up of the people, products and processors making news this week. In this edition: Unilever, Peggy Biltz, Hidden Valley Ranch, Arena Cheese and more.

Meet Bill Weigel, the owner of Weigel's convenience stores

James Carper

April 11, 2012

As Bill Weigel navigates his Toyota Avalon down Tennessee State Highway 131 through Powell, Tenn., he points out landmarks from his boyhood. There is the house where his grandmother lived. Over there is the orchard where he went for an apple to mask the tobacco on his breath from smoking (at age 9) his homemade corncob pipe. And that’s where he boarded the bus and rode to the big city (Knoxville) all by himself before he was even 10 years old.

Broadacre Dairy processes award-winning chocolate milk for Weigel's convenience store

James Carper

April 10, 2012

Fluid milk processing facilities are generally the same. They all have rooms for milk intake, separating, homogenizing and filling. Broadacre Dairy has one building on the edge of its property that makes it unique among dairy processors: a log cabin where the owner was born.

Keep Polishing That Healthy Halo

James Carper

April 10, 2012

Dairy processors do not have a problem on the order of pink slime, but they still have to vigorously defend the nutritional value of their products.

Best practices for pumps and valves in dairy processing plants

Choosing the right pump and the right valve can make a dairy plant more efficient. Properly sized equipment leaves little waste in the pipeline and gets the most from CIP solutions.

James Carper

April 10, 2012

Pumps and valves are the hearts and lungs of a dairy processing plant. Pumps move ingredients from vats to fillers. Valves direct liquids to the proper line and allow for simultaneous production and cleaning. Dairy processors need to be efficient, so they want to capture every bit of ice cream mix, cheese curd, white mass or fruit slurry in a line.

Weekly news round-up

Jim Carper's Dairy Case

James Carper

April 6, 2012

A look at the people, products and processors making news. This week: Organic Valley, Dairy Farmers of America, Lifeway Foods and more.

Weekly news round-up

Jim Carper's Dairy Case

James Carper

March 30, 2012

People, processors and products making news this week. In this issue: Bareman's Dairy, AMPI, Chobani, National Milk Producers Federation and more.

Free-standing inserts

Dairy processors promote new and fresh in this week's FSIs

James Carper

March 29, 2012

Dairy brands announce a milk crate’s worth of new dairy products in this week’s free-standing inserts. They also promote freshness and the use of dairy foods in recipes in preparation for the upcoming Easter and Passover holidays.

Swiss Valley Farms' plant runs 24/7

A manufacturing facility in Luana, Iowa runs 24/7, every day of the year. Swiss Valley Farms produces Swiss-style cheeses, cream cheeses and whey powders.

James Carper

March 18, 2012

Northeastern Iowa was shaped by the glaciers and the Mississippi River, which makes up its eastern border. The landscape here defies the stereotype of Midwestern flatness. Rolling hills yield unexpected delights for motorists negotiating the winding county roads.