Overview
All traditional cheeses are made from some type of milk, whether it is from a cow, goat or sheep. In the United States, more than 300 varieties of cheese are produced, largely from cow's milk. In fact, the demand for cheese has been one of the most significant factors influencing the dairy industry.

Production
Total U.S. cheese production in 2010, excluding cottage cheese, was 10.4 billion pounds, up 3.6 percent from 2009. Of that production, American-type cheese totaled 4.3 billion pounds and Italian-type cheese totaled 4.4 billion pounds.  May 2011... Cheese
 

Marketing

• American Cheese Society - The Society's membership is listed by profession (cheesemaker, distributor, broker, supplier), by company name and by last name.
• Australian Specialist Cheesemakers Association - Created in 1982, this association promotes the manufacture of specialty cheeses in Australia. They define specialty as all types of cheese other than Cheddar-type cheese.
• Cheese Information, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board - Resources include how cheese is made, served and can be paired with other foods and beverages.
• Cheese Reporter, Madison, Wisconsin.
• Cheese Statistics, Wisconsin Dairy Impact, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
• Consumers Show Strong Brand Loyalty in Cheese Purchases, Amber Waves, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, 2009.
• Dairy, ERS, USDA.
• Dairy, U.S. per capita food availability, ERS, USDA, 2008.
• Dairy: World Markets and Trade, Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA.
• Dairy Foods magazine - This industry publication offers the latest news on trends.
• Dairy Product Prices, ERS, USDA - Annual data is compiled on cheese production and prices.
• Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS), FAS, USDA, 2009.
• Livestock, Dairy & Poultry Outlook, ERS, USDA.
• World Cheese Exchange Database, Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison - Includes information on over 1,400 cheeses and can be sorted by name or nationality.

Processing/Manufacturing

• Dairy Grading, Ag Marketing Service (AMS), USDA.
• General Specifications for Dairy Plants Approved for USDA Inspection and Grading Service, AMS, USDA, 2005.
• How is cheese from pastured cows unique?, Research Brief #73, Center for Integrated Agriculture Systems, University of Wisconsin, 2007 - Preliminary research from UW-Madison shows that cheese from the milk of pastured cows tastes significantly different from other cheese. A consumer panel preferred the cheese made from the milk of cows fed pasture and grain.
• Small Dairy Resource Book, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), USDA, 2000 - Information sources for farmstead producers and processors.
• Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese, University of Vermont.

Production

• Dairy Products, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA.
• Making Soft Cheeses, Colorado State University Extension, reviewed 2007.
• Milking the Benefit from Camels, BBC News, 2006.
• Producing Sheep Milk Cheese, Oregon State University Extension Service, 2006.
• Raw Milk Cheese, Question of the Week, ATTRA, NCAT, 2006.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Adirondack Cheese Company, Yorkville, New York - This third-generation family farm business takes orders for its old-fashioned cheddar cheese by mail, phone and fax.
• Andrulis Farmers Cheese, Fountain, Michigan - This cheese business is dedicated to making traditional Baltic-style farmer's cheese. The farm offers eight varieties of cheese and markets them online.
• Becoming the Big Cheese, Conde Nast Portfolio, 2007 - The Kehler brothers of Greensboro, Vermont, want to be all things to all artisanal cheesemakers, offering everything from starter recipes to sales and marketing expertise to a facility for finishing cheeses.
• Cheese, The New American Farmer, SARE, USDA - Describes two cheese-producing operations.
• Crave Brothers Farmstead Classics, Waterloo, Wisconsin - This family constructed a cheese factory on their farm in 2001 to produce their own specialty cheeses.
• Dairy Cooperative Gives Producers Options, Market to Market, Iowa Public Television, 2003 - Cabot Creamery Cooperative merged with Agri-Mark to form a successful and profitable business for producers in the northeastern United States.
• Green Pastures Dairy Inc., Carlton, Minnesota - A  family-owned business that specializes in the manufacture of aged Gouda cheese using natural, unpasteurized milk.
• Hilmar Cheese Company, Hilmar, California - This cheese company is located in California's Central Valley and has grown to be the largest single-site producer of natural American-style cheese and whey products in the world. They recently opened a new facility in the Texas Panhandle in Dalhart, Texas.
• Jisa Farmstead Cheese, Brainard, Nebraska - This business was started in 2005 when David and Bonnie Jisa launched a commercial cheese operation, a response to difficulties in the dairy industry brought on by a drop in milk prices.
• Neighborly Farms, Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University - In the hills of Randolph Center, Vermont, the owners of this farm have established an organic dairy and cheese-processing facility on the farm. Visitors can watch the cows being milked and see cheese being made.
• Organic Cheese Producer Profiles, PCC Natural Markets, Seattle, Washington.
• Picket Fence Creamery, Woodward, Iowa - This 80-acre, family-owned and -operated dairy farm and country store is owned by Jeff and Jill Burkhart. Using rotational grazing, the 80 Jersey cows produce milk that is pasteurized on site and bottled or made into value-added products such as ice cream or cheese.
• Scholten Family Farm, Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, 2009 - Roger and Patty Scholten of Weybridge, Vermont, started organic production in 2007 and are already producing delicious artisanal cheeses.
• Strykly Texas Cheese Company, Schulenburg, Texas - This company makes cheese from its registered Jersey dairy herd. The cheese products include Texas-shaped cheddar cheese and several gift packs.
• Sweetwater Valley Farm, Philadelphia, Tennessee - This farm is the only on-farm cheese plant in the state. It features a cheese factory and retail store. Milk from the herd is processed into 15 different cheeses that are sold under the Tennessee Cheddar label.
• Tillamook County Creamery Association, Tillamook, Oregon - This farmer-owned cooperative was established in 1909. The cooperative markets cheese and dairy products to retail outlets throughout the United States.
• Traditions run 100-years deep at Tillamook County Creamery, Rural Cooperatives magazine, USDA, 2009.
• Uplands Cheese Company, Dodgeville, Wisconsin - This cheese company is owned and operated by two families. The company produces a farmstead cheese made from nonpasteurized milk, using techniques similar to those used in southeastern France.
• Winchester Cheese Company, Winchester, California - Using the milk of their 500 cows, this farm makes seven varieties of homemade cheese and markets it from a Web site.
   

Links checked May 2011.