News

We recently returned from the North Central Cheese Industries Association (NCCIA) conference, and we’re still thinking about everything we took in. On behalf of everyone at Bentley Instruments, thank you to the NCCIA organizers, committee members, and volunteers whose hard work brought the industry together. Events like this don’t happen without months of planning, and it showed in every detail.

The conference was a great learning opportunity for our team. The sessions and conversations gave us fresh perspectives on the challenges cheese producers face every day, from maintaining consistent quality to improving laboratory efficiency. Since 1982, we’ve focused on building instruments for the dairy industry that are reliable, precise, and easy to use. Hearing directly from the people who depend on them helps us keep improving.

It was also a terrific networking event. We enjoyed catching up with longtime customers and partners, and meeting many new faces across the industry. To all of the outstanding producers who attended: thank you for your time, your questions, and your commitment to making great dairy products. Your passion is what drives our work.

At Bentley Instruments, customer satisfaction is our first priority. Conversations like the ones we had at NCCIA remind us why we do what we do, and we look forward to putting what we learned into practice as we continue to develop solutions for the dairy industry.

If we didn’t get the chance to connect with you at the conference, we’d love to hear from you. Contact your local Bentley Instruments representative or reach out to our team to learn how we can support your laboratory.

Thank you again, NCCIA, and we look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Bentley Instruments is pleased to announce that MicroVal certification has been renewed for its full line of BactoCount analyzers. The renewals were approved on 25 September 2026 at the 70th meeting of the MicroVal Technical Committee, with certificates issued by LRQA Nederland B.V.

MicroVal certification confirms that a method has been validated by an independent MicroVal Expert Laboratory and shown to be at least equivalent to the recognized ISO reference methods. It also confirms that the manufacturing facility meets the quality management requirements of the MicroVal Rules.

The renewed certificates cover:

• BactoCount IBC 3.0 (Certificate 2021LR97) and BactoCount IBCm 3.0 (Certificate 2021LR98): Total bacteria count and somatic cell count in raw cow, sheep and goat milk, validated against EN ISO 4833-1:2013 and ISO 13366-1:2008. Both certificates are valid through 1 December 2030.
• BactoCount IBC & IBCm (Certificate 2013LR44): Total bacteria count in raw cow’s milk, validated against EN ISO 4833-1:2013 and EN ISO 4833-2:2013. This certificate has been held since 2014 and is valid through 15 December 2030.

These renewals mean dairy laboratories worldwide can continue to rely on BactoCount instruments for fast, automated raw milk testing that is independently shown to match reference methods. The results are equivalent to traditional plate counts and microscopic cell counts, but are delivered in a fraction of the time.

Summaries of the validation reports are available on the MicroVal website: www.microval.org.

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2026 NALMA meeting in Charleston, SC! It was an invaluable opportunity to connect with dairy herd improvement (DHI) lab managers from across North America, learn more about the challenges and priorities facing their labs and businesses, and have meaningful conversations about how we can continue to support the important work they do.

It was also a great opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new colleagues, share ideas, and strengthen the relationships that make this industry so valuable. At Bentley, we appreciate the opportunity to listen, learn, and reaffirm our commitment to supporting DHI laboratories with the technology, service, and solutions they rely on.

A special thank you to Julee O’Reilly for all the hard work and dedication that went into putting this meeting together. Your efforts helped make it a valuable and enjoyable event for everyone who attended.

We’re already looking forward to the next opportunity to connect. Thank you again to everyone who made the 2026 NALMA meeting such a success!