HOW WE MET: I sat next to Gary on a recent flight from Phoenix to Minneapolis. We struck up a conversation talking about what each other did for a living. I told him I was a dairy magazine editor. I found out he is a consultant in energy efficiency and sustainability projects. Gary’s main focus includes designing efficient hot water systems for homes and businesses. As we talked, we discussed how the projects he worked on also applied to dairies across the country.

A classic nursery rhyme starts like this: Little Miss Muffet Sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey; The poem’s main character loved every bit of dairy. But what if this Mother Goose character became a modern, more selective dairy consumer? What would happen if she only wanted cheese curds and not the whey?