Championship Cheese Auction Tops $333,000 in Record-Breaking Year

Enthusiastic dairy processors, marketers, and suppliers raised an impressive $333,125 at the 2022 Chr. Hansen Championship Cheese Auction, held April 13 at CheeseExpo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The funds go to support the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association’s (WCMA) industry education and scholarship programs, as well as the World and U.S. Championship Cheese Contests and university dairy training centers.

“This year’s record-breaking Auction reflects the generosity and forward thinking of the dairy processing industry,” said WCMA Executive Director John Umhoefer. “We’re grateful to this year’s bidders and honored to provide opportunities for the growth and advancement of the industry’s most valuable asset: its people.”

Since 1997, Auction dollars have supported WCMA’s Mike Dean and Cheese Industry Supplier Student Scholarships, helped fund popular WCMA training workshops, and fueled donations to infrastructure projects at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and South Dakota State University. Altogether, WCMA has invested $1.3 million in the next generation of the dairy processing industry.

This year’s Auction featured a total of 86 gold medal cheeses from the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest, organized into 41 lots. WCMA sincerely thanks all of the winning bidders for their generous support: Milk Specialties Global; DSM Food Specialties USA, Inc.; DR Tech, Inc.; Great Lakes Cheese; Masters Gallery Foods, Inc.; Nelson-Jameson, Inc.; Decatur Dairy, Inc. & Guggisberg Cheese; Ivarson, Inc.; APT, Inc.; Loos Machine & Automation; Oshkosh Cold Storage; TC Transcontinental; Kelley Supply, Inc.; ProActive Solutions USA, LLC; Dairy Connection, Inc.; Hydrite; Vivolac Cultures Corporation; T.C. Jacoby & Co.; Emmi Roth; Wisconsin Aging & Grading Cheese, Inc.; Custom Fabricating & Repair, Inc.; Chr. Hansen, Inc.; Food Safety Net Services; ALPMA; Wabash; and Novak’s Cheese of Wisconsin, Inc.