Championship Cheese Auction Raised Record Total!

An exuberant crowd of dairy processors, marketers, and suppliers raised a record $339,835 for dairy education at the 2023 Chr. Hansen Championship Cheese Auction at CheeseCon in Madison, Wisconsin. The funds support industry training programs offered by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA), as well as the World and U.S. Championship Cheese Contests and university dairy training centers.

“Each year we see the generosity of the dairy processing industry come to life at the auction, and this year’s bidders broke the record yet again to benefit the next generation of leaders,” says WCMA Executive Director John Umhoefer. “Our sincerest thanks go to all those who raised their paddles to contribute to the scholarships and education that help grow and strengthen our industry.”

For more than 25 years, auction dollars have supported emerging dairy professionals through WCMA’s Mike Dean and Cheese Industry Supplier Student scholarships. Funds raised at the auction also have helped fund WCMA’s popular training programs for dairy manufacturers and suppliers, and fueled donations to build the new world-class Center for Dairy Research facility in Madison, as well as dairy pilot plants at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and South Dakota State University. Thanks to generous auction bids, the World and U.S. Championship Cheese Contests and the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest improve and grow each year, WCMA says. Altogether, WCMA has invested $1.3 million in the next generation of the dairy processing industry.

This year’s auction featured a total of 79 gold medal cheeses, butters and yogurts from the contest, organized into 42 lots. Lots and the winning bids are as follows:

• Item 1: Fabulous Kraft — Cybertrol Engineering purchased 5 pounds of Philadelphia Cream Cheese made by Kraft Heinz Beaver Dam, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, for $240 per pound for a total of $1,200.

• Item 2: Terrific Tillamook — T.C. Jacoby purchased a combined 40 pounds of Tillamook Hot Habanero Jack,
Tillamook Hickory Smoked Cheddar and Tillamook Seriously Strawberry Farmstyle Cream Cheese Spread made by Tillamook, Tillamook, Oregon, for $250 per pound for a total of $10,000.

• Item 3: Astonishing Arena — Atlantic Grain purchased 6 pounds of Original Recipe Colby Jack Deli made by Team Arena, Arena Cheese, Arena, Wisconsin, for $210 per pound for a total of $1,260.

• Item 4: Gilman Glory — Dairy Products Marketing purchased 24 pounds of Colored Sharp American made by Gilman Cheese Corp., Gilman, Wisconsin, for $100 per pound for a total of $2,400.

• Item 5: Cabot, Nab It! — RELCO, a Koch Separation Solutions Company, purchased a combined 15 pounds of Cabot 83 BF Extra Creamy Sea Salted Butter made by Team West Springfield, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, West Springfield, Massachusetts; and Cabot Greek Yogurt 10%, Team Cabot and Cabot Triple Cream Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt made by Team Cabot, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Cabot, Vermont, for $300 per pound for a total of $4,500.

• Item 6: Mosaic Meadows Magic — Marquez Brothers International purchased 5 pounds of LaClare Creamery Fig & Honey Goat Cheese made by Team LaClare, LaClare Creamery, Malone, Wisconsin, for $750 per pound for a total of $3,750.

• Item 7: A-M-P-I Love It! — Dairy Products Marketing purchased a combined 40 pounds of Cheddar made by Dillon Sylla, Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI), Blair, Wisconsin; Ghost Pepper Jack made by Jim Falls Cheese Team, AMPI, Jim Falls, Wisconsin; and Dinner Bell Shredded Mild Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese made by AMPI’s Dinner Bell Creamery Team, AMPI, Portage, Wisconsin, for $550 per pound for a total of $22,000.

• Item #8: Crave-ing Chocolate Mascarpone — The Marvin & Debra Cherney Family Foundation purchased 10 pounds of Chocolate Mascarpone made by Crave Brothers Team, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese LLC, Waterloo, Wisconsin, for $190 per pound for a total of $1,900.

• Item 9: Sensational Sigma — Darlington Dairy Supply purchased a combined 10 pounds of Queso Oaxaca and Cotija Grated made by Mexican Cheese Producers, Sigma Darlington Plant, Darlington, Wisconsin, for $400 per pound for a total of $4,000.

• Item 10: Classic Red Barn — The Marvin & Debra Cherney Family Foundation purchased 9 pounds of Vintage Cupola American Original Cheese made by Team Door Artisan Cheese Co., Red Barn Family Farms, Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, for $200 per pound for a total of $1,800.

• Item 11: Klondike Gold — G&R Foods purchased a combined 30 pounds of Odyssey Feta made by Kristi Wuthrich, Buholzer Brothers Dill Havarti made by Tom Schultz and Odyssey Peppercorn Feta made by Amanda Gutzmer, all of Klondike Cheese Co., Monroe, Wisconsin, for $700 per pound for a total of $21,000.

• Item 12: Pine River’s Better Butter — Wisconsin Aging & Grading Cheese purchased 5 pounds of Sea Salt Caramel Butter made by Team Pine River Dairy, Pine River Dairy, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for $325 per pound for a total of $1,625.

• Item 13: Loving that Lactalis Cracker Barrel! — Loos Machine & Automation purchased 40 pounds of Cracker Barrel Aged Reserve Cheddar manufactured by Agropur-Weyauwega, Lactalis Heritage Dairy, Weyauwega, Wisconsin, for $275 per pound for a total of $11,000.

• Item 14: Excepcional Specialty Cheese — Marquez Brothers International purchased 5 pounds of Panela made by Specialty Cheese Co. Team, Specialty Cheese Co. Inc., Reeseville, Wisconsin, for $475 per pound for a total of $2,375.

• Item 15: BelGioioso Brilliance — Complete Filtration Resources purchased a combined 25 pounds of BelGioioso Burrata made by Robert W. Wheeler and BelGioioso Aged Provolone Mandarino made by Kevin Benzel, both of BelGioioso Cheese Inc., Denmark, Wisconsin, for $400 per pound for a total of $10,000.

• Item 16: Lovely Land O’ Lakes — DSM Food Specialties purchased a combined 60 pounds of Aged Cheddar made by Kiel Production Team, Land O’Lakes, Kiel, Wisconsin; White Extra Melt American Cheese With Jalapenos made by Loaf Team, Land O’Lakes, Spencer, Wisconsin; and Yellow American Slices made by Slice Team, Land O’Lakes, Spencer, Wisconsin, for $275 per pound for a total of $16,500.

• Item 17: Capital Caputo — Cheese Market News purchased 5 pounds of Mini Nodini made by Team Caputo, Caputo Cheese, Melrose Park, Illinois, for $75 per pound for a total of $375.

• Item 18: LaGrander’s Grandeur — Kelley Supply purchased 13 pounds of LaGrander’s Colby Longhorn, made by Team #3, LaGrander’s Hillside Dairy, Stanley, Wisconsin, for $860 per pound for a total of $11,180.

• Item 19: Valley Queen Reigns — Complete Filtration Resources purchased 40 pounds of Valley Queen Reduced Fat Cheddar made by TJ Jacoby, Valley Queen, Milbank, South Dakota, for $575 per pound for a total of $23,000.

• Item 20: Mighty Kingston — Nelson-Jameson purchased a combined 12 pounds of Kingston Premium Blue and Breezy Blue made by Kingston Cheese Team, Kingston Creamery, Cambria, Wisconsin, for $200 per pound for a total of $2,400.

• Item 21: Glorious Glanbia — Nelson-Jameson purchased a combined 40 pounds of Color Cheddar made by Abel Navarrete, Pepper Jack made by Juan Torres, Chipotle Color Cheddar made by Matt Cotroneo, Sweet Heat Habanero White Cheddar made by Nikola Strbac and Sweet Heat Habanero Color Cheddar made by Renata Celic, all of Glanbia Nutritionals, Twin Falls, Idaho, for $550 per pound for a total of $22,000.

• Item 22: Remarkable Rothenbuhler — Masters Gallery Foods purchased 50 pounds of Founder 56 Emmentaler Swiss made by James Yoder, Rothenbuhler Cheesemakers, Middlefield, Ohio, for $115 per pound for a total of $5,750.

• Item 23: Deer Creek + Hennings = Deerlicious! — Proactive Solutions USA purchased 22 pounds of Deer Creek The Stag made by Henning Cheese, The Artisan Cheese Exchange, Kiel, Wisconsin, for $125 per pound for a total of $2,750.

• Item 24: Superior Schuman — Kelley Supply purchased a combined 60 pounds of Organic Copper Kettle Parmesan, Cello Mascarpone, Cello Fontal and Cello Asiago made by Team Lake Country Dairy, Schuman Cheese, Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, for $375 per pound for a total of $22,500.

• Item 25: Carr Valley Curdtastic — Proactive Solutions USA purchased 10 pounds of White Cheese Curds made by Carr Valley Cheese Co. Inc., La Valle, Wisconsin, for $275 per pound for a total of $2,750.

• Item 26: Bongards Best — Advanced Process Technologies Inc. purchased 40 pounds of Monterey Jack made by JR Larson, Bongards Creameries, Perham, Minnesota, for $375 per pound for a total of $15,000.

• Item 27: Winning Widmers — Great Lakes Cheese Co. purchased 40 pounds of Matterhorn Alpine Cheddar made by Widmer’s Cheese Cellars Team, Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, Theresa, Wisconsin, for $100 per pound for a total of $4,000.

• Item 28: Agropur Perfection — Hydrite purchased a combined 46 pounds of Low Moisture Mozzarella; Whole Milk, Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella; Smoked Provolone; and Reduced Sodium Provolone made by Jeremy Robinson, Agropur, Luxemburg, Wisconsin, for $295 per pound for a total of $13,570.

• Item 29: Guggisberg’s Boss Baby — Great Lakes Cheese Co. purchased 10 pounds of Baby Swiss Wheel, Rindless made by DV Team 2, Guggisberg Cheese, Millersburg, Ohio, for $650 per pound for a total of $6,500.

• Item 30: Kemps & DFA Cottage Kings — RELCO, a Koch Separation Solutions Company, purchased 4 pounds of Kemps 4% Pineapple Cottage Cheese made by Kemps LLC, Farmington, Minnesota, for $325 per pound for a total of $1,300.

• Item 31: Diamond Decatur — Masters Gallery Foods purchased a combined 20 pounds of Muenster and Havarti made by Matt Henze, and Dill Cheese Curd made by Steve Stettler, both of Decatur Dairy Inc., Brodhead, Wisconsin, for $425 per pound for a total of $8,500.

• Item 32: Amazing Artisans — Dairy Connection purchased a combined 50 pounds of Hootenanny made by Goat Rodeo Team, Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy, Allison Park, Pennsylvania; Prairie Tomme made by Green Dirt Farm Production Team, Green Dirt Farm, Weston, Missouri; Briana made by Matthew Brichford, Jacobs and Brichford Farmstead Cheese, Connersville, Indiana; Whitney made by Jasper Hill Farm, Greensboro Bend, Vermont; Wegmans Three Milk Gouda made by Todd Pontius, Old Chatham Creamery, Groton, New York; Lucky Linda Clothbound Cheddar made by Redhead Creamery, Brooten, Minnesota; Rumiano Pepato Dry Jack made by Rumiano Cheese, Crescent City, California; St. Malachi made by Team Doe Run, The Farm at Doe Run, Coatesville, Pennsylvania; and Landmark Creamery Sweet Annie made by Landmark Creamery, Belleville, Wisconsin, for $100 per pound for a total of $5,000.

• Item 33: Prairie Farms Prominence — Sugar River Cold Storage purchased 10 pounds of Small Curd 2% Cottage Cheese made by Quincy Team, Prairie Farms Dairy, Quincy, Illinois, for $475 per pound for a total of $4,750.

• Item 34: Super Cesar — Novak’s Cheese purchased 5 pounds of Hand Stretched String Cheese made by Cesar’s Cheese Team, Cesar’s Cheese, Plain, Wisconsin, for $400 per pound for a total of $2,000.

• Item 35: Pine River Gold Pack — Masters Gallery Foods purchased 12 pounds of Mango Habanero Cold Pack Cheese Spread made by Team Pine River, Pine River Pre-Pack Inc., Newton, Wisconsin, for $775 per pound for a total of $9,300.

• Item 36: Fantastic Lactalis — Custom Fabricating & Repair purchased a combined 10 pounds of Galbani Low Fat Ricotta made by Lactalis American Group Inc., Buffalo, New York; President Double Cream Brie made by Lactalis USA-Belmont, Belmont, Wisconsin; and Karoun Honey Yogurt made by Culture Team 1, Lactalis/Central Valley Cheese Inc., Turlock, California, for $575 per pound for a total of $5,750.

• Item 37: Rockin’ Roelli — Chr. Hansen purchased 20 pounds of Roelli Haus Select Cheddar made by Team Roelli, Roelli Cheese Co. Inc., Shullsburg, Wisconsin, for $400 per pound for a total of $8,000.

• Item 38: Greatest Great Lakes — TC Transcontinental purchased a combined 15 pounds of Mild Provolone Cheese made by Cuba Team 3, Great Lakes Cheese, Cuba, New York, and Pepper Jack Shingle Slices made by Almost Famous, Great Lakes Cheese, Plymouth, Wisconsin, for $1,450 per pound for a total of $21,750.

• Item 39: Burnett’s Success — Hydrite purchased 10 pounds of Burnett Dairy Smoked String Cheese made by Burnett Dairy Team, Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Grantsburg, Wisconsin, for $525 per pound for a total of $5,250.

• Item 40: Marieke’s Marvels — DSM Food Specialties purchased a combined 40 pounds of Marieke Gouda Young and Marieke Gouda Black mustard made by Marieke Gouda Clan, Marieke Gouda, Thorp, Wisconsin, for $100 per pound for a total of $4,000.

• Item 41: V&V Valor — ALPMA purchased 12 pounds of Sierra Brand Cotija made by Team V&V Supremo, V&V Supremo Foods, Chicago, for $650 per pound for a total of $7,800.

• Item 42: The U.S. Champion! — DSM Food Specialties purchased 17 pounds of Europa made by Arethusa Cheese Team, Arethusa Farm Dairy, Bantam, Connecticut, for $550 per pound for a total of $9,350.

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Source: Cheese Market News