World Dairy Expo Championship Announces Grand Champion Winners
This year’s Championship Dairy Product Contest, sponsored by the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association and Dairy Foods magazine, received a record number of 705 entries
This year’s Championship Dairy Product Contest, sponsored by the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) and Dairy Foods magazine, received a record number of 705 entries for cheese, butter, fluid milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, sour cream, sherbet, cultured milk, sour cream dips, whipping cream, dried whey and creative/innovative products from throughout the United States.
“It is amazing how dairy manufacturers have embraced this contest,” says Brad Legreid, executive director of WDPA. “Due to the tremendous support from dairy companies throughout North America, the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest has averaged a 25% annual rate of growth over its first nine years. This is unprecedented growth for a relatively new contest. This growth is a direct reflection of the high level of interest that dairy processors have in entering the only judging contest of its kind in North America. Because this contest is all encompassing, dairy manufacturers have the unique opportunity to compete in a prestigious, all-dairy national contest.”
Judging was held Aug. 16 at UW-Madison’s Babcock Hall and August 17-18 at the Madison Area Technical College (MATC) Culinary School, Madison, Wis.
First-place winners for each category include:
AMPI-Blair Division, Blair, Wis., Cheddar
Foremost Farms USA, Cochrane, Wis., White Sharp Cheddar
Masters Gallery Foods, Plymouth, Wis., Aged Cheddar
AMPI, Dawson, Minn., Colby Jack
Chalet Cheese Co-op, Monroe, Wis., Baby Swiss Wheel
Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, Madison, Wis., Brick and Gouda
Lactalis American Group, Buffalo, N.Y., WMLM Mozzarella Retail, Mild Provolone and Reduced-fat Provolone
Lactalis American Group, Tipton, Calif., Mozzarella Fresca Fresh Mozzarella 16-ounce Log
Sassy Cow Creamery, Columbus, Wis., String Cheese
Arthur Schuman, Inc., Fairfield, N.J., Montforte Gorgonzola Cheese Wheel
Mill Creek Cheese, Arena, Wis., Cajun Cheddar Curd
Pine River Pre Pack, Newton, Wis., Swiss Almond Cold Pack Cheese Food
Nasonville Dairy Inc., Marshfield, Wis., Feta
Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Waterloo, Wis., Crave Brothers Mascarpone
Sartori Co., Plymouth, Wis., SerVecchio Parmesan and Pastorale Blend Mixed Milk Cheese
AMPI, Portage, Wis., White American Pasteurized Process Cheese
Bongards Creameries, Bongards, Minn., Pasteurized Process American with Jalapeño Pepper
Don Francisco Cheese, Riverbank, Calif., Panela #1 Latin American Cheese
Woolwich Dairy USA, Lancaster, Wis., Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Milk Cheese
Formaggio Italian Cheese Specialties, Hurleyville, N.Y., Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll and Betta Butter Honey & Walnut
Michigan Milk Producers Association, Constantine, Mich., Salted Butter and Unsalted Butter
Purity Dairies, Nashville, Tenn., 2% White Milk
Country Delite Farms, Nashville, Tenn., Whole Chocolate Milk and Cultured Milk
Prairie Farms Dairy, Dubuque Division, Dubuque, Iowa, Low-fat 1% Chocolate Milk
Cass-Clay Creamery/AMPI, Fargo, N.D., Fat-free Chocolate Milk and Ranch Sour Cream-based Dip
Grass Point Farms, Thorp, Wis., UHT 2% Milk
Shatto Milk Co., Osborn, Mo., Root Beer Whole Milk
Turner Dairy, Fulton, Ky., Whipping Cream
Prairie Farms Dairy, Quincy, Ill., Strawberry Yogurt
Brookshire Grocery Co., Tyler, Texas, Low-fat Blueberry Yogurt
Noosa Yoghurt, Bellevue, Colo., Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt
Tropical Cheese Industries, Perth Amboy, N.J., Mango Drinkable Yogurt
Dean Foods of IN, Rochester, Ind., Regular Cottage Cheese
Kemps, Cedarburg, Wis., Kemps 2% Cottage Cheese and Fat-free Cottage Cheese
Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Buffalo, N.Y., Bison Pineapple Cottage Cheese, Bison Light Sour Cream, Bison French Onion Dip, Bison Southwestern Chipotle Dip and Bison Garlic Parmesan Dip
Hermosa Farms, Downey, Calif., Rockview Farms Sour Cream
Kraft Foods, Beaver Dam, Wis., Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Franklin Foods, Enosburg Falls, Vt., Green Mountain Farms Blue & Chive-flavored Cream Cheese
Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, Shelby Township, Mich., Signature Vanilla Ice Cream and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Gifford’s Dairy, Skowhegan, Maine, French Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Ice Cream
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, Wis., Zanzibar Chocolate Ice Cream
Cedar Crest Specialties, Manitowoc, Wis., Raspberry Sherbet
Sassy Cow Creamery, Columbus, Wis., Open Class Ice Cream
Perry’s Ice Cream, Akron, N.Y., Peanut Butter Chip Frozen Yogurt
Swiss Valley Farms, Luana Plant, Monona, Iowa, Sweet Whey Powder
Saputo Cheese USA, Lincolnshire, Ill., Whey Permeate (High-lactose Whey)
Foremost Farms USA, Sparta, Wis., Whey Protein Concentrate
Joseph Gallo Farms, Atwater, Calif., Whey Protein Isolate
Galloway Co., Neenah, Wis., Fitness Edge-Mango Peach-flavored Whey-based Sports/Energy Drink
ConAgra Foods, Menominee, Wis., Non-fat Dried Milk
Philip R’s Frozen Desserts, Winchester, Mass., Lollibons
In addition, Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, Madison, Wis., was selected as the Cheese and Butter Grand Champion, while Gifford’s Dairy, Skowhegan, Maine, was chosen as the Grade A & Ice Cream Grand Champion.
On Oct. 4, the contest’s auction will be held at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., where all category first-place winners will be auctioned off. A portion of the proceeds will be used to fund the Dr. Robert Bradley Scholarship Fund, which is awarded annually to a deserving student pursuing a career in the dairy industry. The auction will begin at 5 p.m. and will feature Doug Wilson, Cooperative Resources International, as the auctioneer.
For more information on the contest and auction, call 608-836-3336.
This year’s Championship Dairy Product Contest, sponsored by the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) and Dairy Foods magazine, received a record number of 705 entries for cheese, butter, fluid milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, sour cream, sherbet, cultured milk, sour cream dips, whipping cream, dried whey and creative/innovative products from throughout the United States.
“It is amazing how dairy manufacturers have embraced this contest,” says Brad Legreid, executive director of WDPA. “Due to the tremendous support from dairy companies throughout North America, the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest has averaged a 25% annual rate of growth over its first nine years. This is unprecedented growth for a relatively new contest. This growth is a direct reflection of the high level of interest that dairy processors have in entering the only judging contest of its kind in North America. Because this contest is all encompassing, dairy manufacturers have the unique opportunity to compete in a prestigious, all-dairy national contest.”
Judging was held Aug. 16 at UW-Madison’s Babcock Hall and August 17-18 at the Madison Area Technical College (MATC) Culinary School, Madison, Wis.
First-place winners for each category include:
AMPI-Blair Division, Blair, Wis., Cheddar
Foremost Farms USA, Cochrane, Wis., White Sharp Cheddar
Masters Gallery Foods, Plymouth, Wis., Aged Cheddar
AMPI, Dawson, Minn., Colby Jack
Chalet Cheese Co-op, Monroe, Wis., Baby Swiss Wheel
Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, Madison, Wis., Brick and Gouda
Lactalis American Group, Buffalo, N.Y., WMLM Mozzarella Retail, Mild Provolone and Reduced-fat Provolone
Lactalis American Group, Tipton, Calif., Mozzarella Fresca Fresh Mozzarella 16-ounce Log
Sassy Cow Creamery, Columbus, Wis., String Cheese
Arthur Schuman, Inc., Fairfield, N.J., Montforte Gorgonzola Cheese Wheel
Mill Creek Cheese, Arena, Wis., Cajun Cheddar Curd
Pine River Pre Pack, Newton, Wis., Swiss Almond Cold Pack Cheese Food
Nasonville Dairy Inc., Marshfield, Wis., Feta
Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Waterloo, Wis., Crave Brothers Mascarpone
Sartori Co., Plymouth, Wis., SerVecchio Parmesan and Pastorale Blend Mixed Milk Cheese
AMPI, Portage, Wis., White American Pasteurized Process Cheese
Bongards Creameries, Bongards, Minn., Pasteurized Process American with Jalapeño Pepper
Don Francisco Cheese, Riverbank, Calif., Panela #1 Latin American Cheese
Woolwich Dairy USA, Lancaster, Wis., Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Milk Cheese
Formaggio Italian Cheese Specialties, Hurleyville, N.Y., Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll and Betta Butter Honey & Walnut
Michigan Milk Producers Association, Constantine, Mich., Salted Butter and Unsalted Butter
Purity Dairies, Nashville, Tenn., 2% White Milk
Country Delite Farms, Nashville, Tenn., Whole Chocolate Milk and Cultured Milk
Prairie Farms Dairy, Dubuque Division, Dubuque, Iowa, Low-fat 1% Chocolate Milk
Cass-Clay Creamery/AMPI, Fargo, N.D., Fat-free Chocolate Milk and Ranch Sour Cream-based Dip
Grass Point Farms, Thorp, Wis., UHT 2% Milk
Shatto Milk Co., Osborn, Mo., Root Beer Whole Milk
Turner Dairy, Fulton, Ky., Whipping Cream
Prairie Farms Dairy, Quincy, Ill., Strawberry Yogurt
Brookshire Grocery Co., Tyler, Texas, Low-fat Blueberry Yogurt
Noosa Yoghurt, Bellevue, Colo., Strawberry Rhubarb Yogurt
Tropical Cheese Industries, Perth Amboy, N.J., Mango Drinkable Yogurt
Dean Foods of IN, Rochester, Ind., Regular Cottage Cheese
Kemps, Cedarburg, Wis., Kemps 2% Cottage Cheese and Fat-free Cottage Cheese
Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Buffalo, N.Y., Bison Pineapple Cottage Cheese, Bison Light Sour Cream, Bison French Onion Dip, Bison Southwestern Chipotle Dip and Bison Garlic Parmesan Dip
Hermosa Farms, Downey, Calif., Rockview Farms Sour Cream
Kraft Foods, Beaver Dam, Wis., Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Franklin Foods, Enosburg Falls, Vt., Green Mountain Farms Blue & Chive-flavored Cream Cheese
Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, Shelby Township, Mich., Signature Vanilla Ice Cream and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Gifford’s Dairy, Skowhegan, Maine, French Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Ice Cream
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Madison, Wis., Zanzibar Chocolate Ice Cream
Cedar Crest Specialties, Manitowoc, Wis., Raspberry Sherbet
Sassy Cow Creamery, Columbus, Wis., Open Class Ice Cream
Perry’s Ice Cream, Akron, N.Y., Peanut Butter Chip Frozen Yogurt
Swiss Valley Farms, Luana Plant, Monona, Iowa, Sweet Whey Powder
Saputo Cheese USA, Lincolnshire, Ill., Whey Permeate (High-lactose Whey)
Foremost Farms USA, Sparta, Wis., Whey Protein Concentrate
Joseph Gallo Farms, Atwater, Calif., Whey Protein Isolate
Galloway Co., Neenah, Wis., Fitness Edge-Mango Peach-flavored Whey-based Sports/Energy Drink
ConAgra Foods, Menominee, Wis., Non-fat Dried Milk
Philip R’s Frozen Desserts, Winchester, Mass., Lollibons
In addition, Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, Madison, Wis., was selected as the Cheese and Butter Grand Champion, while Gifford’s Dairy, Skowhegan, Maine, was chosen as the Grade A & Ice Cream Grand Champion.
On Oct. 4, the contest’s auction will be held at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., where all category first-place winners will be auctioned off. A portion of the proceeds will be used to fund the Dr. Robert Bradley Scholarship Fund, which is awarded annually to a deserving student pursuing a career in the dairy industry. The auction will begin at 5 p.m. and will feature Doug Wilson, Cooperative Resources International, as the auctioneer.
For more information on the contest and auction, call 608-836-3336.
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