The state of New York showed their support for their dairy industry on June 18th. Many politicians and important figures came to speak, including Ken Blankenbush, an assemblyman who stated his support for creating a "bill of rights" for dairy farmers. The proposed bill has been in the works for years, and we're interested to see where it goes from here.

Assembly bill 3675, sponsored by Assemblyman Gary D. Finch, R-Springport, would prevent milk dealers from using tactics like coercion or bribery to prevent dairy farmers from joining into an association or cooperative with other milk producers. The bill has been referred to the Assembly Agriculture Committee, of which Blankenbush and Finch are members. Versions of the bill have been introduced since 2000.

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Goat-lovers in Portland are showing their support by touring urban farms. Lately, these cute animals have been growing in popularity, kept as pets, and for their milk and their weed-controlling appetites.

Make sure to check out the video from NWCN, too:

First came the chicken, then came the goat.

Folks interested in urban goats pedaled through the streets of Northeast Portland Monday. They toured four locations to see inner-city goats up close.

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These New Zealand dairy farmers, who started their own operation, wanted to do things a bit differently. The Sproulls use no chemicals, growth hormones, or antibiotics on their cows. Their comparatively small farm is kept alive by customers through word-of-mouth, and their animals are healthy and happy.

Daniel and Jenny Sproull see themselves as conventional - farming the way it was before all the chemicals were introduced.

They are passionate about producing high-quality milk the way it's meant to be and hope people will always have the right to choose to buy it before it gets "homogenised, pasteurised and buggerised", says Mr Sproull, laughing.

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Photo by katesheets

Not everyone likes eating the cheese rind, that's for sure, but some cheesemakers are going above and beyond to make theirs tasty and different. Read about this Oprah blogger's experience with an espresso-rubbed rind:

I once read that slicing yourself a wedge of brie and then removing the rind is like eating cake without the frosting or pie without the crust. But I have to admit that when someone recently offered me a slice of what appeared to be a semi-hard cheese the color of white cheddar with a dark brown and strangely dirty-looking rind--and told me to eat the whole thing--I was a little skeptical.

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Pictured, Cocoa Cardona, with a black-pepper and cocoa-rubbed rind.

It's refreshing to know that in a time when so much journalism is copy-pasted from press releases, the Gray Lady is keeping up its journalistic standards. When the New York Times wanted to get the real story on Taco Bell's enormously successful Doritos Locos Taco, it sent correspondent William Grimes down to 14th Street and 5th Ave, to sample one for himself. The verdict?

The shell is paper-thin, with a delicate crunch...The meat filling just lay there like ballast, but the lettuce was fresh and crisp and the grated Cheddar had an assertive tang. In other words, for what it is, the Doritos Locos taco is pretty good.

And Grimes wasn't satisfied merely giving the hybrid snack a nibble. He set out to probe the secrets of it's cheese-and-spice infused shell, delving deep into the subtleties of the "orange dust problem."

We're not sure how you could go wrong with this recipe from teenytinykitchen. And just imagine what other foods you could pour that spicy, cheesy sauce over...

The winners of the 40th SOFI (Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation) awards were announced yesterday at the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington D.C., and a healthy number of dairy companies accepted honors for their tasty entries:

Our friends at Vermont Butter and Cheese Creamery swept up quite a few coveted titles, snagging Best Cheese or Dairy Product with Bonne Bouche, and Best Perishable Foodservice Product with cultured butter, as well as Overall Product Line.

2011 ACS winners Rogue Creamery made a showing at SOFI, too, for best USDA-Certified Organic Product with their Flora Nelle.

Big Picture Farm gained the honor of Best Confection for their goat milk caramels.

We've had delivery at our doorstep, we've had DiGorno in our freezers, and now, pizza in our vending machines.

That's right, pizza vending machine "Let's Pizza" will be invading the U.S. this year. The machine has already seen success in Italy, where it was first launched. The most intriguing thing about this machine is that it actually bakes 'fresh' pizza - only after the customer makes a selection does the machine roll and knead the dough, finish it with sauce and cheese (or up to 200 additional toppings) and bake it. The mark of a glorious new era of food technology, or the end of Western civilization? Maybe both.

The Guardian's Nigel Slater brings us two delightful, summery recipes featuring cheese and garden fresh veggies. Included are Slater's recipes for goat cheese and lemon thyme tartlets, a fresh radish and cucumber salad, and a grilled lamb with cool minted feta.

I really should cook more often with the mildly salty, snow-white sheep and goat's cheeses of which I am so fond. I did so twice this week – first in some little tartlets of thyme and cream, and then whipped up into a herb cream to accompany some grilled lamb cutlets. The first, a crusty goat's cheese, cream and grey with mould outside, white as chalk within, was crumbled into cream and egg for some goat's cheese tartlets. Seasoned with thyme leaves cut from the pot on the back porch, the biscuit-sized tarts were in the oven in a matter of minutes.

Blogger Marcella the Cheesemonger interviewed Kerry Henning, a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker and the 4th generation Henning to take the reins of Henning's Wisconsin Cheeses. What makes a 'Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker?' (it's an official title) Read on to find out.

Spaulding: You are known for making huge wheels of cheese. What is the biggest wheel you’ve made and for whom did you make it?

Kerry: The largest wheels we have ever made were 12,000 pounds.

SG: Holy smokes, did you say twelve thousands pounds?

KH: Yes, that’s a 6 ton wheel of cheddar. We have made several of these. They are purchased by customers for special events.