According to the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, there’s been a rise in interest in Latin American-style fresh cheeses. This was accelerated by the pandemic as people sought out higher-end cheeses for taco night, for example. I caught up with Alan Hamann who represents V&V Supremo while volunteering at the World Championship Cheese Contest. V&V Supremo took home medals in the Latin American-style cheese classes. Alan Hamann explains more about the rise in consumer interest in those cheeses.

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Marianne Smukowski and Kerry Kaylegian are the creams of the crop when it comes to distinguishing a champion butter from the rest. Marianne, formerly with the Center for Dairy Research, and Kerry, a Penn State professor, were charged with judging butter from across the globe at the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest. They share what it takes to be a winner in the salted and unsalted butter classes. They also share some of the other details of being a judge, such as how to clean the palette in between sampling.

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March is coming in like a lamb! It's lambing season at the UW Sheep Facility in Arlington, which relies on Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine student volunteers to help ewes and their new lambs stay healthy and happy after birth. Student Emily Massie says this experience allows her to get a producer perspective, which is important because that’s who they’ll be serving upon graduation.

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The World Championship Cheese Contest is not only a chance for judges to sample some of the best cheeses the world has to offer, but to also learn from other dairy enthusiasts from across the world.

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The World Championship Cheese contest is definitely an international event!  One of the countries that takes just as much pride in their cheese as Wisconsin does is Switzerland.  Switzerland is also the only place in the world outside of Wisconsin that has a master cheese maker program.  Their program has been around for over 100 years, while Wisconsin's started in 1994 and based much of the detail off of the Swiss program.

Stefan Truttmann is part of the Swiss Cheesemakers Association in Switzerland, and is serving as one of the judges at the World Championship Cheese contest.  He shared a little about the program and the heritage of cheese within Switzerland.

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Judges from across the world met at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, WI this week, eager to select winners across 141 classes. A total of 2,978 entries were submitted by cheesemakers from 29 countries worldwide.

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Labor shortages, transportation glitches - it's all impacting day-to-day business operations at Chippewa Valley Bean.  Jill Welke visits with Tracy Qwark at Chippewa Valley Bean about ways they've adjusted to keep business rolling.

More farmers are looking for operating credit this year due to high input costs.  Pam Jahnke visits with Hans Pfleiger, VP of Credit Operations for Alcivia about availability and options.  Paid for by Alcivia.

The College of Ag and Life Sciences has announced major changes to the Farm and Industry Short Course beginning in 2023.  Pam Jahnke talks with FISC Director, Jennifer Blazer, Doug Reinemann CALS Associate Dean of Extension and Outreach, and gets reaction from students on the changes.

Did you know that Ukraine is ranked around 11th in the world when it comes to cheese imports.  Ryan Yonkman with EverAg steps in to provide an update on how the dairy markets are handling the volatility being created by the Russian/Ukraine conflict and declining world milk production.

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Congratulations are in order for Steve Stettler of Decatur Dairy in Brodhead for getting gold in the World Championship Cheese Contest unflavored cheese curd class. This is the first year the international contest had a cheese curd class. And Stettler is the first Master Cheese Curd Maker. The World Championship Cheese Contest, hosted biennially by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association since 1957, is the largest technical cheese, butter, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredient competition in the world. In an interview with Stephanie Hoff, Stettler shares how supply chain looks during a time of international unrest, disruption, inflation and labor tightness.

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The Farm and Industry Short Course is undergoing drastic changes come next term. It will move from a 16-week accredited college experience to multiple, nonaccredited lessons. The new program will also be hybrid, offering both hands-on education as well as virtual components. The news comes as FISC has seen declining enrollment over the past decade and financial hardship.  

Roughly half of this year's students -- nearly 20 -- gathered in a conference room below their dorms in the Lowell Center to get their questions and concerns addressed by Associate Dean Karen Wassarman and FISC Director Jennifer Blazek about why the FISC program is undergoing changes and what that means for students going forward.

The overarching theme was frustration. Most students were agitated about online learning, losing their FISC community, the uncertainty about housing for the new programs, losing accreditation, having wasted time on taking prerequisites for a certificate that they can no longer earn next year and missing out on the college experience.

The response from leadership was simple: the FISC program from a financial perspective does not look good, and changes need to be made. This could be an opportunity to welcome greater demographics and to have focused, accelerated programs that continue to carry weight even though they don't come with college credits. 

The last FISC class, as it is, wraps up this month. 

Students Hannah Hensel and Leo Ehlen share their thoughts.

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The sudden warm up that has impacted some of Wisconsin has made bodies of ice less stable or safe.  That's the concern voiced by Jake Holsclaw, DNR Warden in northwest Wisconsin.

Holsclaw tells Pam Jahnke that even in his area, where snow recently fell - the warm up has put ice in a precarious position.  He says that almost all ice shanties will have to be removed from the ice starting this weekend, and concluding (dependent on geography) on the first Sunday following March 12th. He says basically highway 64 is the dividing line on those guidelines.

Holsclaw says for those individuals that continue to try and use the ice, planning for safety is critical.  He suggests making sure you put your cell phone in a plastic bag for protection.  He also suggests taking along a flotation device of some type, just in case.

Unfortunately people have become stranded when ice has broken away from land this year, requiring rescue efforts.  An Iowa county man died recently after falling through ice on a Wisconsin lake.

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