Ice Cream Short Course
Ice Cream Short CourseFor producer-processors
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Producer-Processor Ice Cream Short Course

Training to help dairy farms make and sell their own ice cream

Four video sections take you from ingredients through mix making, freezing and retail management, each with a short quiz. A real-world case study then follows one family dairy through adding an ice cream enterprise, with the planning tools they used.

Aerial view of a dairy farm surrounded by fields and woodland
Mountain Dairy, the farm featured in the course case study

How the course works

1
Watch the section videoWork through Sections 1 to 4 in order.
2
Take the quizEach section ends with a short self-check quiz.
3
Apply it to your farmUse the case study and planning tools to plan your own enterprise.

Filter by focus

Showing 9 resources. Section videos and quizzes open on the course site; slides download as PowerPoint files.
Ingredients & Mix

Section 1: Ice Cream Ingredients

  • Video lesson on the ingredients that go into ice cream
  • Self-check quiz at the end of the section
  • Start here: the first of four course sections
Materials includedVideo · Quiz
Start Section 1
Ingredients & Mix

Section 2: Ice Cream Mix Making & Characteristics

  • Video lesson on making ice cream mix
  • Covers the characteristics of a finished mix
  • Self-check quiz at the end of the section
Materials includedVideo · Quiz
Start Section 2
Freezing & Hardening

Section 3: Ice Cream Freezing

  • Video lesson on freezing ice cream
  • Builds on the mix-making section
  • Self-check quiz at the end of the section
Materials includedVideo · Quiz
Start Section 3
Retail & Business

Section 4: Ice Cream Retail Management

  • Video lesson on managing ice cream retail
  • Final section of the core course
  • Self-check quiz at the end of the section
Materials includedVideo · Quiz
Start Section 4
Case Study

Mountain Dairy Creamery: Enterprise Case Study

  • How a fluid milk dairy added ice cream as a higher-margin product
  • Equipment choices: upgrading an existing HTST, a batch freezer and a hardening cabinet
  • Facility design, permitting and pre-opening events
Materials includedCase study · Farm video · Slides · Planning links
Read the case study
Case Study

Mountain Dairy’s Core Business and Selling Fluid Milk Wholesale

  • The farm’s grocery business and direct store delivery
  • What grocery buyers require, and the terms to expect
  • Tips for finding decision-makers and making sales
Materials includedSlides (PowerPoint)
Download slides
Planning Tools

Ice Cream Short Course Slides

  • Slide deck on what to weigh before starting an ice cream enterprise
  • Used alongside the Mountain Dairy case study
  • Download and adapt for your own planning
Materials includedSlides (PowerPoint)
Download slides
Planning Tools

Cultivating Your Farm’s Future: Planning to Plan

  • University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension planning guide
  • Helps a farm team get ready to plan a new enterprise
  • Free PDF
Materials includedPDF guide
Open the guide
Retail & Business

Ice Cream Shop Business Plan Template

  • A ready-made outline for an ice cream shop business plan
  • Pairs with Section 4 on retail management
  • Hosted on an outside website
Materials includedBusiness plan template
View the template