Dairy Team Webinar to Focus on Fermenting Whey to Produce Spirits

Apr 11, 2024

By Fred M. Hall

Using dairy whey to produce alcohol will be the focus of the May 15 dairy webinar with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

The program, from noon to 1 p.m., will will feature Curt Basina, from Copper Crow Distillery, discussing the fermentation and distillation of lactose sugar found in whey to produce alcohol. Basina will also focus on certain issues faced using whey in distillation, including legal requirements associated with distillation.

Basina, and his wife Linda, are the owners of Copper Crow Distillery in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Copper Crow is located on the Red Cliff Indian Reservation and is the first Native American-owned distillery in the United States.

Copper Crow is well-known in the industry for being on the cutting edge in the fermentation and distillation of whey, a byproduct of the cheese making industry, to produce award-winning spirits including vodka and gin produced from whey permeate. Whey spirits are also used in the production of their amaretto and aquavit.

Producers, dairy consultants and industry representatives are encouraged to attend the free webinar live from noon to 1 p.m. on May 15. Registration must be completed at least one hour prior to the program.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies