WCMA Live, Online Championship Cheese Auction Raises Funds for Industry Educational Programs

Dairy industry suppliers, marketers and processors joined the first-ever online Championship Cheese Auction Friday, April 24 and raised more than $93,000 to support the Championship Cheese Contests, scholarship programs and educational workshops of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA).

“The coronavirus pandemic brought change and delay for our industry gathering, CheeseExpo, and we wanted to try to retain this tribute to great cheesemaking,” WCMA Executive Director John Umhoefer said. “We are very thankful that so many industry people joined to watch this live auction, to bid and to support our educational efforts at WCMA.”

Through the years, annual Championship Cheese Auctions have provided crucial support to the U.S. and World Championship Cheese Contests, funds for WCMA student scholarships, and subsidized WCMA’s supervisor and manager training programs. Auction funds have allowed WCMA to support the construction of the new Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the new dairy pilot plant at UW River Falls and the Davis Dairy Plant at South Dakota State University. Additionally, the Auction offers supplier partners and processors a chance to thank and support the cheese companies that make this industry famous.

“WCMA is grateful for each and every bidder who generously participated in the Championship Cheese Auction,” WCMA Events Manager Kirsten Strohmenger said. “With so much happening in the world right now, we are deeply appreciative to members of the dairy industry community for coming together to support our mission.”

WCMA thanks each of the following successful Championship Cheese Auction bidders: Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc., Kelley Supply, Inc., Chr. Hansen, T.C. Jacoby and Co., Inc., Custom Fabricating and Repair, Inc., Nelson Jameson, Inc., ProActive Solutions USA, LLC, TC Transcontinental, Complete Filtration Resources, Dairy Connection, Inc., Masters Gallery Foods, Decatur Dairy, APT- Advanced Process Technologies, R. Mueller Service & Equipment Company, Loos Machine Automation, Wisconsin Aging & Grading Cheese, Milk Specialties Global, Vivolac Cultures Corporation, B-Team, Cheese Market News, ProAmpac, and ALPMA USA, and DSM Food Specialties.