CDIC 2026 Events & Short Courses in California

CDIC, in collaboration with its academic partners, schedules short courses throughout the year. These short courses are a unique opportunity for hands-on training and require no pre-requisites. They may be attended by technical and marketing staff, leadership teams, as well as current and future entrepreneurs.

CDIC and its academic partners also schedule annual conferences to showcase innovation, manufacturing, and marketing opportunities. These conferences are for dairy industry leaders, professionals, associated industries, and professionals in the dairy industry operations, R&D, QA, marketing and regulatory affairs. It’s a great opportunity to facilitate dialogue, identify new opportunities and resolutions to barriers faced by the industry.

CDIC is offering courses throughout 2026, partnering with Chapman University, Cal Poly/SLO, UC Davis, Cal Poly/Pomona, Fresno State and other industry experts.  

Topics include but are not limited to:

1. Innovation
2. Cheesemaking
3. Regulations and R&D
4. Best Practices
5. Ice Cream Making
6. Yogurts & Fermented Milks
7. Butter making
8. Ready to drink Coffees

For more details on each: CDIC_2026 Events Calendar

CDIC Resources

Visit our Resources page to access CDIC and Regional Dairy Center on-line Resources

Online Short Courses offered through Regional Dairy Centers

A variety of on-line courses are available from other dairy centers, and open to California dairy processors and entrepreneurs. Please consult the Centers’ website for additional information on program, registration, and cost.

University of North Carolina, Raleigh

• FS 250 Basics of Food Safety
• FS 416/516 Quality Control in Food and Bioprocessing
• FS 435/535 Food Safety Management Systems
• Environmental Monitoring in The Dairy Industry:
• Preventive Controls for Dairy Processors
• Food Safety Basics for Artisan Cheesemakers
• Food Safety Basics for Ice Cream Makers

University of Wisconsin, Center for Dairy Research

• Short Courses Introduction
• Cheesemaking Fundamentals
• Certificate in Dairy Processing
• Buttermaking Fundamentals (self-study)

Training Resources

The California Dairy Innovation Center provides presentation materials from many of our on-line and in-person programming. Please visit our Resources page to download digital copies of program information.