PCC-DBII Dairy Scoop Aug 2026

Download the PCC Monthly Newsletter, August 2026 in PDF format.

Curd Program Highlight

For the past 8 years, Dr. Carmen Licon has been envisioning a technical education program to jumpstart the careers of individuals wanting to become cheese entrepreneurs and/or to work for professional creameries as cheesemakers. She has seen and heard the struggles of creameries nationwide to find talent to fill their workforce gaps - especially those due to growth or retirements.

August marked the culmination of the 1st cohort of CURD: Curriculum for Understanding and Reimagining Dairy. Thirteen individuals from all over the country participated in 6 months of online training and monthly discussion sessions followed by a two-week hands-on intensive training at the Dairy Products Technology Center on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. Program evaluations enthusiastically support continuation of this program.

Congratulations, Carmen, on aging your dream to the right moment for sharing. Thank you to the Dairy Products Technology Center, the Daphne Zeppos Teaching Endowment, and the Pacific Coast Coalition - Dairy Business Innovation Initiative for supporting a dream transformed into reality.

Thank you, Don Froylan!

Extending a huge thanks to Francisco and Lisa Ochoa and Jim Vu for hosting Senator Merkley of OR at Don Froylan Creamery and sharing talking points about the dairy business innovation program in general and PCC-DBII specifically. Did you know that every Congressional District in Oregon has benefitted from DBI funding?Impressive.

LA International Dairy Competition Awards

Winners from the PCC-DBII “cheese family” include: Camino De Paz, Coney Island Creamery, Cowgirl Creamery, CROPP Cooperative/ Organic Valley, Don Froylan Creamery, Drake Family Farms, Joseph Farms Cheese. Congratulations!

Internship Spotlight: The Salty Goat

“I also just wanted to say thank you. This internship has made such a huge impact on our creamery. Being able to bring on an intern before our busy season was honestly one of the best things that could have happened for us. Having those months to work and train together before peak production and market season really set us up for a successful summer. Over the last six months, they have grown tremendously and passed their Vat Batch Pasteurizer Operator's License, which means they’re able to operate independently in the creamery when needed.

They’ve become such an important part of our team that we've officially offered them a permanent part-time position as our Cheesemaker's Assistant and Market Attendant — which they have accepted!

Because we had someone in place and fully trained before summer, we were also able to take on a fourth farmers market. The market has exceeded our expectations and has given us another really valuable opportunity to grow our direct sales. Selling our cheese directly at farmers markets allows us to keep more of the value of the cheese here on the farm, rather than having to rely as heavily on wholesale avenues. Having the extra hands to make that possible has been such a great opportunity for us to continue building a resilient business.

It's really rewarding to look back and see how much this internship has helped us accomplish in just six months — not only growing our business, but also investing in someone who now has a future in cheesemaking. We're incredibly grateful for the opportunity and for PCC-DBII's support of small farms and creameries like ours.”

Thank you, Erin!