Schedule of Events

Tom Tench is Chief Executive Officer for Glanbia Dairy Nutrition. In his 21 years with Glanbia, Tom led corporate development and strategy, acquisitions and investments, and served as Chief Operating Officer before being named CEO to the newly-formed Dairy Nutrition division focused on dairy ingredients – particularly whey protein, bioactives, and U.S. cheese production.  

Tom will share the exciting story of Glanbia’s strategic growth, positioned at the heart of better nutrition. Consumer interest in performance nutrition, lifestyle nutrition, clean food labels and protein, protein, protein offers growth opportunities for cheese, whey protein concentrates and isolates, and natural bioactives.  

Location: Baird Ballroom Foyer, 4th Floor

Innovation Center for US Dairy and the Center for Dairy Research feature industry experts on topics including:  

• Industry perspectives on Advanced Environmental Monitoring tools.  Panelists will offer in-depth insights and answer questions on environmental monitoring using current approaches while adding in Whole Genome Sequencing, Metagenomics, and other advanced tools as warranted.  This session will review today’s cutting-edge tools and offer suggestions on when to leverage which for efficient and highly-actionable results.  
• The Innovation Center and CDR will review resources available to help train employees on food safety. 
• Research updates from leading dairy food safety researchers.  Kristin Shill will share recent Listeria research at the UW Food Research Institute and Tu-Anh Huynh will share her work on dairy microbiomes, including cheese boards, as a source of natural antimicrobial solutions against Listeria monocytogenes. 

MODERATOR

• Tim Stubbs, Senior Vice President, Product Research & Food Safety, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy 

SPEAKERS

• Dan Belina, Director of Product Safety & Regulatory Affairs, Land O’Lakes Inc. 
• Karen McCarty, Senior Director of Commercial Quality Assurance, Agropur
• Alex O'Brien, Outreach Specialist, Center for Dairy Research
• Dr. Tu-Anh Huynh, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison 
• Dr. Kristin Schill, Assistant Research Professor, Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison 

The landscape of dairy sustainability is evolving—but the demand and interest in sustainable dairy processing remain strong. What has changed is how we talk about it, how we prioritize actions, and how we demonstrate value. This session explores sustainability’s shifting language, re-prioritized expectations, and increasing emphasis on the link between sustainability initiatives and tangible business ROI.  

Seminar topic areas include:  

• The Changing Sustainability Landscape: Exploring how sustainability priorities and conversations in dairy have shifted over the last year, why language matters, and how stakeholders are responding to new pressures and expectations. 
• Demonstrating ROI and Mitigating Risk: Learn how dairy companies are reframing ESG initiatives for risk management and business resilience.  This session will focus specifically on sustainable packaging issues, water recovery and recycling, and optimizing energy and heat use in processing , with practical examples of how sustainability investments drive measurable returns and reduce operational risk.
• Communicating Value in a New Era: A discussion of strategies to effectively articulate the business and environmental benefits of sustainability initiatives, staying aligned with  stakeholder expectations, and reinforcing your long-term vision for sustainability.   

• Danica Nilsestuen, Director, Sustainability & Grants, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association 

SPEAKERS

• To be announced 

A walk-in experience featuring interactive stations where Championship Cheese Contest judges guide attendees through technical dairy product evaluation. 

From 10:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-1:30 p.m., stop by to learn the science and test your skills in professional grading by examining, tasting, and scoring cheese and dairy products at your own pace.

Hosted by:



Location: Exhibit Hall, 3rd Floor

Rapid shifts in federal policy are impacting dairy businesses nationwide. Trade volatility, intensified immigration enforcement, shifts in nutrition program funding, and the broader “Make America Healthy Again” agenda are reshaping workforce dynamics, market access, and operational planning. In this WCMA-led panel discussion, industry experts and advocates take you beyond the headlines, offering clear, concise, and objective analysis of new Congressional and regulatory directions, as well as strategies to leverage this state of change for long-term growth.

MODERATOR

• Rebekah Sweeney, Senior Director, Policy and Programs, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association 

SPEAKERS

• To be announced 

Hosted by:



Location: N108

Breakthrough advances in dairy cow breeding, genomic testing, gender selection and feeding have coincided with unpresented consumer interest in natural butterfat and dairy protein. Rising production of protein and butterfat in fresh cow’s milk offers unlimited possibilities but also new challenges for cheesemakers – both in cheese quality and profitability. Navigating the New Milk offers a deep dive into changes in dairy farm and dairy cow management, the impact of beef genetics on rising dairy components, the global landscape for protein and butterfat, and tools cheesemakers can use to navigate cheese yield, cheese quality and product pricing. Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) caps the discussion with a description of its funded Health & Wellness science, innovation and marketing plans, emphasizing protein and other dairy nutrients needed in consumer diets.  

MODERATOR

• John Umhoefer, Executive Director, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association 

SPEAKERS

• Leonard Polzin, Dairy Markets and Policy Outreach Specialist, University of Wisconsin  
  • Leonard will offer an in-depth look at the rapid dairy farm evolution to higher milk components and beef production, including the impact of genomic testing, sexed semen, feeding advances, and the impact of beef genetics on supporting dairy farm profitability and the ability to focus improved genetics on top-producing cows.  
• Eric Meyer, President, HighGround Dairy 
  • Eric will offer a global overview of the economic and market impacts of the confluence of rising dairy component production and rising consumer interest in dairy. His talk includes the income value of beef in dairy, the impact of rising protein values on milk prices and milk production, the root causes of consumer interest in dairy protein and the concurrent strong demand for high-quality whey protein, and the impact of this demand on related dairy protein products.  
• Mike Brown, Vice President of Market Intelligence, T.C. Jacoby & Company  
  • Mike will home in on the impact of higher milk component values on smaller dairy processors. Rising protein demand and values offer opportunities for larger processors, but many lower volume cheese manufacturers face paying farmers a high price for milk protein, without being able to produce or sell  whey or milk protein products.  
• Dr. Rani Govindasamy-Lucey, Research Professor, Center for Dairy Research 
  • Rani will explain a tool that can help dairy processors calculate fat and protein recoveries in cheese based on the detailed composition of milk and finished cheese. This can provide useful input into improving cheese yield and process efficiency.
• Paul Ziemnisky, Executive Vice President, Wellness, Innovation & Business Development, Dairy Management Inc.   
  • Paul will address dairy product marketing at the end of the supply chain. He will describe DMI’s Health & Wellness science, innovation and marketing plans.  With its strong emphasis on protein and other dairy nutrients needed in consumer diets, his talk is the perfect capstone for this through-line look at today’s milk and dairy products, moving from cow to the consumer. 

• WCMA Babcock Award
• WCMA Vanguard Award
• WCMA Luminary Award
• WCMA Distinguished Service Award
• WCMA Cheese Industry Champion Award
• WCMA Life Member

A walk-in experience featuring interactive stations where Championship Cheese Contest judges guide attendees through technical dairy product evaluation.
 

From 10:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-1:30 p.m., stop by to learn the science and test your skills in professional grading by examining, tasting, and scoring cheese and dairy products at your own pace.

Gain insight into the current cheese research with scientists and graduate students at the Center for Dairy Research. You’ll hear about proper eye development in Swiss made from concentrated milk, the use of waterless cookers, cheese made from A1 and A2 milk, and novel approaches to make expanded cheese snacks.

MODERATOR

• Dean Sommer, Cheese Technologist, Center for Dairy Research

SPEAKERS

• Dr. Rani Govindasamy-Lucey, Research Professor, Center for Dairy Research 
• Dr. Rodrigo A. Ibáñez, Associate Scientist, Center for Dairy Research 
• Erin Levinson, Graduate Student, Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison 
• Jason Pronschinske, Graduate Student, Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison 

Location: Hall E, 3rd Floor

Learn more about high protein dairy beverages and yogurt. Scientists and graduate students at the Center for Dairy Research will review key challenges and research taking place in this area. You’ll hear about stability challenges in shelf-stable or ESL (extended shelf life) beverages, recent work on sedimentation in these types of beverages, and learn about the impact of dairy ingredients on high protein yogurts we well as differences in attributes such as graininess and astringency in these products.   

MODERATOR

• Tom Guerin, Assistant Director, Center for Dairy Research

SPEAKERS

• Dr. Daniel Wilbanks, PhD Food Scientist, Center for Dairy Research 
• Dr. John Lucey, Professor and Center Director, Center for Dairy Research  
• Dr. Elisa Ale, PhD Food Scientist, Center for Dairy Research 
• Julianna Lopez, Graduate Student, Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison