The State of the U.S. Artisan/Specialty Cheese Industry -- Survey Update
We are close to the finish line! We need just 80 more cheesemakers to participate in "The State of the U.S. Artisan/Specialty Cheese Industry" survey by September 30!
Need some extra incentive? Four respondents will be randomly selected to receive $100 gift cards! What do you have to lose?
Complete the survey.
Building the American Cheese Brand: Why You Should Participate in ACS's Cheese Industry Survey
By Laura Werlin
It might seem unimportant that we should effort to compile information about the American cheese landscape for the sake of the media. But in fact, when a publication like
The Wall Street Journal comes calling, or magazines, or innumerable online publications, which they do weekly, ACS needs to have hard and fast numbers to provide for them. Why? It's all about the American cheese brand, and ultimately it's about you.
For example, quite often these publications are writing trend stories. Yet, when we can't tell them how many cheesemakers there are in the country, or how the number of sheep's milk cheesemakers has grown, or whether there are any farmstead buffalo milk producers -- you name it -- then we are missing an opportunity to build that brand.
What does "brand" mean? Ultimately, it means that readers of those publications will start to notice that American cheese is a real movement -- not a novelty, and certainly not a symbol of mediocre cheese. Eventually, that translates into sales for you.
For these reasons and many more - the primary one being that it is you, the cheesemaker, who is helped the most by
taking ACS's cheese industry survey (it will become a de facto resource for you) -- I encourage you to make a cup of tea or grab a beer, sit down, and allocate the 20 minutes it will take for you to complete it. The next time a national news publication comes to ACS and asks, "So, what's happening with American cheese these days?", we'd like to be able to tell them. And you will ultimately be the beneficiary.
Laura Werlin
President, ACE Foundation
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Certification News
Individuals who sat for the ACS CCP
® Exam in Des Moines will receive notification of their pass or fail status this week. Look for an email from Jane Bauer, ACS Education & Outreach Manager, by end-of-day on Friday, September 2.
2017 Exam is Announced
The next ACS CCP Exam is scheduled for July 26, 2017 in Denver, Colorado! Applications will be accepted from January 4 through March 31, 2017 at
www.certifiedcheeseprofessional.org.
2013 ACS CCPs: Time to Recertify!
The ACS CCPs from the 2013 class that took the exam in Madison, WI will now need to recertify in order to retain their ACS CCP status. As the ACS CCP program is meant to elevate the level of knowledge and expertise of cheese professionals, remaining an ACS CCP requires continued industry experience.
The last day to recertify is October 31, 2016. The Certification Committee has worked to make the process easy. Requirements for recertification and other details are available
here.
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ACS Welcomes Content Manager Sarah Spira
Last month, ACS welcomed our newest team member, Sarah Spira, as our Content Manager. Sarah combines years of cheese retail experience with a Masters of Library and Information Science, bringing ACS a broad expertise in generating, archiving, and classifying content.
Sarah's addition to our Denver team will ensure that our vast information holdings become more easily and readily accessible to ACS members.
Welcome, Sarah!
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A Welcome, and Thanks, From President Jeff Jirik
 As President, I'd like to extend a huge "Thank You!" to the leadership of our 2016 Conference in Des Moines. Conference Co-Chairs CJ Bienert, Stephanie Clark, and Myrna VerPloeg planned and delivered a top-notch Conference. Thank you for the many hours of work you've contributed to making ACS 2016 a great success. Special thanks to Myrna for the Opening Reception at Maytag Dairy Farms -- it was beautiful.
This was my 13th ACS Conference. Looking back over the years, I am deeply grateful for our prior Board members' courageous and wise decision to pursue self-management. Our ACS Leadership Team, led by Nora Weiser, along with Michelle Lee, Rebecca Orozco, Jane Bauer, Steve Binns, Jeff Yeager, Eliza Wetherill, and Sarah Spira, continues to build content and value year-round, which really shines forth at Conference. Thank you for your dedicated and professional work to add value to our Society and our industry.
Finally, a special thanks to all you volunteers who give of your time, working behind the scenes to make everything appear so effortless. ACS Committees are integral to the continued success of the Conference. In addition, onsite Conference volunteers (over 300!) ensure that the careful planning becomes a delightful and fulfilling reality.
Moving on, it's pretty humbling for me to serve as your President for the year ahead. I've been so impressed by the experience and leadership of prior Presidents, with whom I've served on the Board (Dick Roe, Peg Smith, Greg O'Neill, Christine Hyatt). This past year, Dick Roe did a superb job of leading ACS forward and raising the caliber and scope of our game. The publication of the ACS Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers and the substantial progress we have made in building a relationship with FDA are in large part due to Dick's deliberate, wise, and thoughtful leadership.
Looking forward, I hope to see continued progress in advancing our advocacy with FDA; updating the ACS Best Practices Guide for Cheesemakers to incorporate suggestions from FDA and members; an updated strategic plan to take us through 2020; and, finally (of course!) another record-breaking Conference in Denver in 2017.
All the best,
Jeff Jirik
President
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Why do it? Because you said you would.
 If you have kids, this time of year is all about routine -- getting into your groove and surviving the Back-to-School crush. But it is also a great time to look at your bigger work and life routines: how you organize, how you plan, and how you ensure that you follow through on what you say you'll do. Having a messy desk or a laptop full of randomly named files is not a cardinal sin. In fact, it might be how you stay on top of things. Perhaps we should all worry less about the outward appearance of order and worry more about the internal order of our thoughts and actions. That leads right back to the most important routine: following through on what you say you'll do. This gets to the heart of your character, which is really the only thing in your life over which you have total control.
- Do you over-promise and under-deliver, leaving others (and yourself) disappointed?
- Do you embellish your accomplishments and take credit for the work of others?
- Do you see a wrong in the world and do your part to amend it?
- Do your private actions mirror your public actions?
- Are you honest in your dealings with others or do you have ulterior motives?
The least exhausting way to approach anything in life is as yourself. It drains the spirit to try and be something you're not -- and really, why would you want to? It is far better to make honest mistakes with the best of intentions and stay true to who you are. Once you add layers of expectations, perceptions, and concerns about others' motives, your fear of failure likely sets up an inevitable trajectory leading right to that very thing you fear.
Our
opening keynote speaker in Des Moines, Ari Weinzweig, talked about this loop of expectations and how
what you believe is often what you receive. Expect good things from others, and they'll meet your expectations, and you'll be proven right. Expect the worst, and you'll also be proven right. Instead of saying "you'll believe it when you see it," this is a reminder that sometimes "you'll see it when you believe it." I was lucky to hear another speaker recently, Alex Sheen, founder of the non-profit group,
because I said I would. He also extols the importance of leading with your beliefs, and suggests implementing this in the simplest of ways: by keeping your promises. These promises can be personal or professional, big or small. Basically, if you say you'll do something...you do it. As
Melania Trump and Michelle Obama have both said, "your word is your bond, and you do what you say."
Alex's powerful message has inspired people around the world to keep their promises simply because they said they would. As the kids head back to school, this is something we can pass along to them that is far more essential than a new pencil case.
Nora Weiser
Executive Director
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Did You Attend ACS 2016? We Want to Hear from You!
Take the 2016 Conference Survey
ACS is seeking feedback from Cheese in the Heartland attendees on everything from the registration process to the quality of educational sessions offered in Des Moines. If you haven't done so already, please take a few minutes to complete our overall Conference Survey. Your input is invaluable to us!
Rate Your Educational
Sessions
If you have not provided feedback on the individual sessions you attended, please do so via the Cheese in the Heartland Mobile App. Download the app by texting cheese2016 to 99000 on your mobile device -- or use the desktop version of the app on your computer (no download required).
To evaluate individual sessions via the app, click on "Sessions & Events," and then select each session you attended. Click on "Rate this Session" to provide feedback about session content and speakers.
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Session Recordings from Cheese in the Heartland are Now Available Online!
Catch up on what you missed in Des Moines and continue your professional development beyond the Conference! Conference educational session recordings are now available online through
ACS Education On-Demand.
Individuals who registered for the Conference should have received an email from MultiView with login instructions. Full Conference registrants have access to all recorded sessions. Day Pass registrants will have access to the sessions from the day they attended; additional sessions are available for purchase.
Missed the Conference? You'll receive an email from MultiView next week with login information, which you can use to preview and purchase sessions. Members receive a discounted rate on all session purchases.
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Make Your Plans for American Cheese Month! October 2016
 This October marks the sixth annual
American Cheese Month -- our grassroots celebration of American-made cheeses and the farmers, cheesemakers, retailers, mongers, and chefs who bring them to the table. Whether you are a cheese professional or simply a cheese lover, American Cheese Month is your chance to spread the word about the incredible quality and diversity of American cheese.
 If you're looking for creative ways to showcase your American cheese pride, pick up some Cheese Party swag and support the nonprofit American Cheese Education (ACE) Foundation, which is underwriting ACS's landmark survey on The State of the U.S. Artisan/Specialty Cheese Industry. Shirts and bumper stickers with fun campaign-style slogans are available for sale at www.cheeseparty.org, and you can download free
print-at-home posters for your shop, office, or home -- just in time for election season! We hope you will also keep the ACE Foundation in mind when planning any charitable events or giving campaigns this October.
We look forward to celebrating with you this fall!
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Judging & Competition News
2016 Winners List & Media Kit
In case you missed it, a full winners list from the 2016 ACS Judging & Competition is available here
, along with a media kit highlighting key facts and stats from this year's awards, such as how winners stacked up by location and milk type.
Score Sheets, Certificates, and Ribbons for Entering Companies
Score sheets and entry statistics for all entering companies, and award certificates and ribbons for this year's winners, will be mailed out this week. Are you a 2016 winner? Don't forget to
download a digital winner graphic or order winner stickers to promote your win.
Watch the Awards Ceremony
If you weren't able to cheer your favorite cheesemakers on in-person this summer, or if you simply wish to revisit some of your favorite moments from the 2016 Awards Ceremony,
a full recording is available for online viewing. We hope you'll enjoy this celebration of great American cheesemakers and their products!
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Banana Crème Fraîche Ice Cream with Roasted Strawberries
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Photo - American Cheese Society
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When I was a kid, I used to walk to a tiny little ice cream parlor close to my house on a weekly basis. It was right next to a flower shop that made me think of Little Shop of Horrors, with its unwieldy plants and dark lighting. I was always timid as I walked by it, scared that a giant venus fly trap was going to start yelling "Feed Me, Eliza!" But the ice cream shop, with its delicious homemade banana ice cream, made me determined to overcome my fears, walk by, and get my sweet fix.
This recipe is by far the closest I've ever come to re-creating the taste and memory of that ice cream. It is creamy and subtly sour with just the right amount of sweetness. The roasted strawberries are a nice, indulgent addition, but if you choose to skip them, this ice cream stands beautifully on its own.
Try making it for yourself!
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