Guest Columns

Perspective:
Dairy Research

Expansion, innovation mark new era for research center

John Lucey

John Lucey, director of the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research and professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, contributes this column for Cheese Market News®.

Curious about what lies ahead for the dairy industry? Step into the newly renovated Center for Dairy
Research (CDR) at Babcock Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and you’re bound to feel inspired. Our world-renowned team is now innovating in a facility with the space and equipment to match their expertise. Primarily supported by dairy farmer checkoff dollars via Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the CDR was established to support the Wisconsin and U.S. dairy industry. By leveraging our enhanced location on a college campus in Wisconsin, the State of Cheese, prioritizing partnerships and holding ourselves accountable to industry standards, CDR is poised to open new avenues for ground-breaking industry advancements.

In developing this project, we succeeded in putting into place the foundations of a Wisconsin-based world-class facility enabling the research infrastructure and knowledge needed to maintain our edge as leaders for decades to come. Not only will these advanced capabilities help us to develop new and higher-quality specialty cheese products, they also will open channels for more value-added products. We will be able to bring new professionals into the industry and train them using equipment that helps transition them quickly and successfully into the workforce.

The plan, which included a three-story addition and remodel, turned our original 1950s-era research rooms into a scaled-down, state-of-the-art plant. Miniaturized vats are now more enclosed and automated, providing superior ability to experiment under controlled conditions. Other improvements include 10 specialty cheese ripening rooms, which can perfectly replicate the environments needed for anything from Brie to Parmesan.

(Find short video tours at wisc.edu/building-project.) It all adds up to keep Wisconsin at the forefront of dairy industry developments.

• Dairy products for the future

It isn’t just the incredible new space to innovate and educate that has me optimistic about the future of dairy and its products. As a scientist who has spent 30 years working in this field, I continue to marvel at the structural complexity of cow milk. Although some in the industry have expressed concerns about emerging competition from plant proteins and lab synthesized products, I see that conversation as a distraction from other innovations that should be our focus.

I think it’s important for our farmers and other leaders in our industry not to lose sight of the fact that we make astounding, highly nutritious products that people love. There will always be alternatives out there. If we continue to make high-quality, appealing products, we will be successful. We simply can’t set narrow limits for the future of dairy and must take a forward-looking approach.

Working with my colleagues and graduate students at the CDR, we are constantly exploring possibilities. With more than 200 combined years of experience, CDR’s cheese industry and applications staff strive to build a sustainable competitive advantage for the domestic cheese industry. Our team’s leadership in innovative strategic research, product development, technology, outreach and continuing education keep us pushing forward.

Right now, we’re engaged in some exciting research that advances new product lines and addresses global challenges. We have explored novel Mozzarella cheese cookers that do not use any water, which eliminates the waste that comes from the cooker water. We are optimizing shelf-stable technology in several ways. We are putting in a beverage line with products that have a six- to 12-month shelf life. We also have developed superchilling, which extends cheese shelf life by cooling the cheese to temperatures below refrigeration but just above the freezing point; this avoids problems with freeze-thaw while providing the benefit of a greatly extended shelf life. Now, CDR has new cheesemaking equipment that could help us use much higher milk solids in the cheese vat; this type of development would help improve cheese yield and efficiency (i.e., the economics of the process). I’m fired up about other capabilities we’ve added in our building that expand the opportunities to convert our dairy into powders and other formats. Our goal is to exceed consumer expectations while providing customers with a safe, wholesome product. And these new nutrition delivery methods are needed now more than ever as we consider ways to address world hunger.

Market demands are also a factor inspiring innovation. We now have the ability to make all kinds of styles of yogurts and cultured products to meet a growing consumer appetite for Greek yogurt, for instance. We’re also seeing more high-protein, low-lactose and calcium-rich beverages that aren’t packaged in the gallon jugs that we grew up with. Although we’ve long used whey byproducts for other purposes, like extracting protein to make whey protein concentrates for use in shakes and in bars, one of our research focus areas around sustainability is using this sugar as a feedstock for bacteria to make bioplastics. I’m incredibly interested in the potential for transforming leftover lactose through a biotechnological process that could enable us to turn a byproduct into packaging and present a more environmentally friendly alternative to the fossil fuels currently used in plastic production.

• Centered on collaboration

All of this — and more — is possible because of the CDR’s role supporting the foremost scientific expertise in dairy research, technical assistance and education. Collaboration — in the form of funding and knowledge-sharing among government, the dairy industry nationwide and my team at Babcock Hall — continues to undergird our success.

Including industry advisory groups in the design process helped us ensure we would meet standards, and as a fully licensed and inspected facility, we adhere to the same requirements as commercial plants across the state. This demonstrates our commitment to bridging the exploratory and practical, connecting our learnings in the lab with professionals who want to lead the way in developing next-generation dairy innovations.

Our applications lab and training center can comfortably seat 60 and allows for R&D and culinary teams to work on the latest and greatest applications in a licensed, collaborative kitchen space. The short courses and the on-demand learning options we developed to respond to the pandemic have expanded our reach to those who can’t spend time on-site. The Master Cheesemaker Program continues to bring together the finest artisans to merge the advanced science and artistic tradition of cheesemaking at the highest levels.

The expansion of our facility marks the beginning of a new era for the CDR. We look forward to building on decades of experience to drive development and deliver both domestic and international audiences even more opportunities to experience Wisconsin cheese and dairy product excellence.

CMN

The views expressed by CMN’s guest columnists are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheese Market News®.

© 2024 Cheese Market News • Quarne Publishing, LLC • Legal Information • Online Privacy Policy • Terms and Conditions
Cheese Market News • Business/Advertising Office: P.O. Box 628254 • Middleton, WI 53562 • 608/831-6002
Cheese Market News • Editorial Office: 5315 Wall Street, Suite 100 • Madison, WI 53718 • 608/288-9090