Guest Columns

Perspective:
Industry Issues

Harnessing power of young minds

Veronique Lagrange

Veronique Lagrange is director of the California Dairy Innovation Center, which brings together producers, processors and educators around a common set of innovation and productivity goals and coordinates pre-competitive research projects and educational training. She contributes this column exclusively for Cheese Market News®.

The dairy industry faces the challenge of an aging workforce and the need for fresh talent to sustain its growth through innovation.

“Changing demographics, young workers’ expectations and perceptions of our industry are constraints we need to address,” commented Gary Germaine, vice president of production operations at Leprino Foods, during the industry panel of the recent California Creamery Operators Association meeting. “The dairy sector used to be considered ‘the place to go’ for a great job, but this perception has changed over the past decade.

Programs we are putting in place with California Dairy Innovation Center (CDIC) in California, for example, are designed to effectively bring back much-needed talent to our industry and develop critical skills.

Created in 2020 by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), the CDIC is a collaboration of industry, checkoff organizations and academic institutions. The CDIC is dedicated to driving innovation and excellence in the dairy industry. One of the pivotal ways it achieves this is by offering training opportunities for the existing workforce, but also engaging with a broad range of students at universities, fostering the next diverse generation of dairy professionals. Those initiatives are designed to offer hands-on experience, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, ensuring that the industry secures a steady pipeline of skilled professionals who can inject fresh perspectives into the sector.

In addition to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Fresno State and UC Davis, which guide programs through their participation on CDIC’s Steering Committee, the CDIC also works with Chapman University, Cal Poly Pomona and Chico State.

In California, the “land of start-ups,” universities are fertile grounds for nurturing future industry leaders, offering a unique blend of academic knowledge from various disciplines, as well as multiple campus-based resources designed to support entrepreneurs. Over the past four years, the CDIC has developed a range of programs and initiatives aimed at connecting with students from multiple academic departments and fostering their appreciation of, and interest in, the dairy industry. Partnerships with leading universities across the state provide students with hands-on experience and, most importantly, real-world insights into the dairy industry.

Through internships, applied research collaborations and industry-guided product development team competitions, the programs offer students valuable opportunities to apply their academic learning and most importantly, foster analytical and independent thinking in practical, applied settings.

One standout initiative is the annual Dairy Innovation Challenge, where students from various academic backgrounds are invited to develop innovative solutions to real-world market opportunities. This competition not only sparks creativity but also provides a platform for students from multiple backgrounds to showcase their talents to industry leaders. New product ideas, new market approaches — even AI-driven solutions — are created over the course of 12-15 weeks with mentorship from academic advisors and industry professionals, culminating in awards for winning teams. Support for leading teams is also available to scale up and showcase concepts, facilitate commercialization or provide placement with industry.

Critical thinking, problem-solving skills and cross-functional collaboration are essential in today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving dairy industry. Programs like those at CDIC are specifically designed to cultivate these skills and create collaborations between students of various backgrounds. Beyond food science and dairy science departments, these programs seek engagement from students in business and agribusiness, engineering, communications and multiple science departments with the goal to create interest in our industry among a broad and truly diverse set of students at multiple locations. By working on complex projects, students learn to analyze problems from multiple angles, develop innovative solutions and implement them effectively.

Programs like these also benefit from Dairy Management Inc.’s (DMI) support, which has made expansion possible to additional campuses with an overall reach of 215,000 students.

According to Marla Buerk, executive vice president, innovation and insights-global innovation partnerships, at DMI, and Jarett Margolis, senior manager, business development, for CMAB, these experiences are invaluable, creating interest in the industry, equipping students with the tools they need to tackle future challenges in their careers, developing linkages with dairy processors, but also spurring growth of new product ideas that can be scaled up and the founding of actual start-up businesses.

The Pacific Coast Coalition’s Dairy Business Innovation Initiative also is highly effective in supporting workforce development programs by funding faculty positions, equipment for pilot plants and internships, which complement DMI’s essential support of CDIC and California dairy applications labs.

The impact of university engagement programs — from training courses and internships to product competitions — is to be realized over time. Through close links with processors that are built into programs like CDIC’s and others, participants have gone on to apply for key positions in leading dairy companies, bringing with them the skills and knowledge they gained. Testimonials from industry leaders highlight the value of the fresh perspectives and innovative ideas these young professionals bring to the table. Industry stakeholders such as Hilmar Cheese Co. Inc. and California Dairies Inc. cite the growing number of applications for internships and permanent positions. Moreover, the long-term benefits to the dairy industry are substantial. Notably, university programs also offer the opportunity to amplify the dairy health and wellness message broadly on campuses to create interest in our products and to change perceptions among Gen Z consumers.

By broadly attracting new talent, innovative cross-departmental university programs ensure that the industry remains dynamic and resilient, capable of adapting to new challenges and opportunities.

CMN

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

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