Value-added dairy center one step closer to reality

A recently published study assesses the feasibility of creating a Northeast value-added dairy training center to support makers of dairy products.

The findings were summarized by Shayna Cohen and Liz Thorpe in a presentation hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets’ Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC).

Cohen led the 18-month research project. She is a managing partner of KK&P Partners, a consulting firm which designs customized solutions to improve food systems. Thorpe, a specialty cheese expert and owner of the People’s Cheese, worked in close partnership with KK&P throughout the study. Several other advisors contributed to the research.

What Are the Problems & Needs?

Beginning in 2004, the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese served as a service center for value-added dairy education, support and training. This support ended in 2014 when the institute ceased operations, leaving Northeast cheesemakers and other value-added dairy producers without a centralized source of training and technical assistance.

The demand still exists, according to Cohen. Past NE-DBIC research has shown that investment in training is needed “to secure that well-earned reputation to help the industry grow and change as the industry around it changes and to cultivate the next generation of master producers,” she said.

The study found that makers resoundingly agree. There was a unanimous “yes” from regional makers that a Northeast-focused support center for value-added dairy makers was needed and would be utilized.

The project included a survey with 55 responses and 60 in-depth interviews and conversations with producers and industry stakeholders in the value-added dairy space.

Producers’ needs fell into four primary areas: introduction to value-added dairy production; food safety and regulatory compliance; business planning; and product and process improvement.

Specifically, makers indicated that the support structure must be adapted to their technical assistance needs. They expressed a need for expert, one-on-one technical consultation. They also indicated a need for a “one-stop shop” to efficiently connect with the right experts. However, producers expressed reluctance to travel more than three hours for training.

Another key finding was that Northeast makers said they prefer to “learn in real facilities with their ‘warts and all’ as opposed to in state-of-the-art research and training facilities that aren’t like anything they would ever operate in,” explained Cohen.

Also notable was that while producers were willing to pay for services, their fees alone would not be sufficient, necessitating corporate sponsorship, public funding and/or philanthropic support.

What is the Proposed Solution?

The next step of the project was to determine how to feasibly meet these needs and constraints. KK&P Partners recommends a decentralized approach using a network of third-party satellite locations rather than building one central facility. Producers and advisors expressed significant hesitation about a single brickand- mortar facility for several reasons – high costs, slow development and fear of funding sustainability.

Given these concerns, and makers’ desire to be in real-world conditions without too much travel, the report recommends a decentralized model, utilizing a network of existing third-party commercial, academic or nonprofit facilities for training. Because the partner organizations will naturally evolve and grow over time, their training sites evolve with them, keeping the network dynamic and adaptable.

Cohen said, “A decentralized center would also be able to serve everyone across the region and beyond by not being in just one location and in doing so, it’s a model that could really generate goodwill and access to funding opportunities and resources across multiple states.”

The recommended organizational structure was to embed the center within an existing organization rather than creating a new nonprofit from scratch, as this would be faster and more cost-effective. The umbrella could be a mission-aligned nonprofit such as one that focuses on food systems, food business support or agriculture. It could also be a for-profit company that’s interested in launching a mission-driven nonprofit training arm.

KK&P suggested issuing a request for proposal to find a suitable and mission-aligned umbrella organization.

How Will the Center Work?

“The center does many things simultaneously. It is both curator and creator of content. It is a diagnostician of problems and guide to finding solutions to those problems,” said Thorpe.

The center will offer one-on-one support. When a maker first contacts the center, they will meet with a case manager who diagnoses their specific needs and directs them to appropriate resources including a suite of contracted technical advisors.

The center will also offer in-person classes using its network of satellite partner facilities across the Northeast, with one of these satellite locations being a facility that’s suitable for hosting longer form intensive training.

Classes may include multi-day cheese bootcamps and subject-specific classes related to food safety and regulatory compliance, business planning and management and product and process improvement and troubleshooting.

The report finds that virtual learning for business planning and management assistance is practical. Process improvement and troubleshooting, on the other hand, might require on-site support at makers’ own facilities.

Now that the feasibility study has outlined how the center will operate, the focus shifts to making it a reality. The NE-DBIC will next convene a launch committee charged with stewarding the center into reality.

The full report is available at nedairyinnovation.com/resources.

by Sonja Heyck-Merlin