ASSOCIATION AFFAIRS

MEMORIALMERLE GLENN FARNHAM

Merle Glenn Farnham, founder and fonnerChainnan of the Board of Dairyland FoodLaboratories, Inc. and Sanofi Bio-Industries,Inc., died on September 15, 1991. Farnhamwas born in Fairhaven, Illinois in 1911. In1914, his family moved to Waterford, Wiscon­sin, where his father operated a butter factoryand milk receiving station. As a youth, Farn­ham assisted his mother in conducting milkquality control tests. He earned a B.S. degreein food chemistry from the University ofWisconsin-Madison in 1933; his senior thesisdealt with adulteration of milk.

Mter 11 years of employment in privateindustry, Farnham's inquisitive and en­trepreneurial spirit led him on a quest to deter­mine the factors that produced the piccanteflavor in aged Italian cheeses. The experimen­tation started in the basement of the Farnhamhome and resulted in discovery of the sourceof the flavor-producing enzymes, pregastric es­terases, in a gland at the base of the sucklingcalf. Patents were obtained, and the first pro­duction facility was in a remodeled barn in theMilwaukee area.

From these humble origins, the businessexpanded into development and production ofother enzymes and ingredients used in the foodindustry. Farnham's company, Dairyland FoodLaboratories, became a major component ofthe dairy industry. The company expanded inthe international market, supplying enzymesand ingredients to Central America, SouthAmerica, and the Far East in addition to theUnited States. Association with Japanese sci­entists resulted in the development and appli­cation of one of the first commercial microbial

milk-clotting enzymes. Of the substantial prod­ucts developed by Dairyland Food Laborato­ries, those with most notoriety were the origi­nal pregastric esterases, Italase and Capalase.These names are cited in numerous articles inthe Journal ofDairy Science and were synony­mous with the generic term, esterase, whenapplied to Italian cheese flavor development.

Since Dairyland Food Laboratories wasfounded by tenacious research, it was logicaland characteristic of Farnham to fund researchand student scholarships, including researchgrants relating to cheese and enzymology atUnited States and Japanese universities. Stu­dent scholarships were awarded to a Braziliandairy school and to high school seniors in­terested in life sciences. Farnham was in­tensely interested in discussing research withstudents and faculty in dairy foods, enzymol­ogy, and medicine.

Farnham's remarkable professional careeryielded numerous awards and honors. Hereceived the Man of the Year award from theNational Cheese Institute. He was also honoredby the Milwaukee section of the AmericanChemical Society and as an outstanding alum­nus of the University of Wisconsin. He be­longed to numerous professional associations,including the Institute of Food Technologistsand the American Dairy Science Association.Civic activities always constituted a major fo­cus for Merle with active participation in theChamber of Commerce, school board, YMCA,and Boy Scouts of America.

Merle is survived by his wife, E. Gladys,two sons, and a daughter.

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