Cheese at the End of the 20th Century : Vermont and The National Market

A short article in the New England Dairy Farmer, a periodical newsletter/paper aimed at the interests of the Vermont dairy farmer was reviewed. The article talks about the rising popularity, usage and production of cream cheese within Vermont as well as the nation in and around November 1996. The rise in consumption of cream cheese is thought to be heavily linked to the consumption of bagels nationwide.  This article is important because it shows that while Vermont's artisan cheese market is gaining ground, there is also a rather sizeable industrial cheese industry in Vermont that is showing no sign of slowing down.

This article describes the success of various Vermont artisan cheesemakers at a national competition. It covers the cheese and cheesemakers who were successful and the meaning of all this for the Vermont cheese community.  This article shows that while Vermont has always known about its rising artisan cheese market, the rest of the country was just beginning to become acquainted with it.  This is important for Vermont because the more national exposure that the artisan cheeses receive, the bigger the artisan cheese industry will grow.