Dairy processors, marketers, and suppliers raised an unprecedented $423,480 at the 2024 Novonesis Championship Cheese Auction at CheeseExpo in Milwaukee, Wis., shattering the previous record by more than $80,000.

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. 

 “The Auction showcases the dairy processing industry’s tremendous support for the next generation, and 2024 was another resounding success. We’re deeply grateful to all of our bidders for their enthusiastic participation!” said John Umhoefer, WCMA Executive Director. 

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 have also 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. Altogether, WCMA has invested more than $1.3 million in the next generation of the dairy processing industry. 

This year’s Auction featured a total of 93 gold medal cheeses, butters, and yogurts from the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest, organized into 42 lots. WCMA sincerely thanks all of the winning bidders for their generous support: Custom Fabricating & Repair, D.R. Tech, Inc., Ivarson, Milk Specialties Global, Masters Gallery Foods, Mohawk Technology, Nelson-Jameson, T.C. Jacoby, dsm-firmenich, Kelley Supply, Hydrite, Emmi Roth, TC Transcontinental Packaging, Novonesis, Loos Machine & Automation, Advanced Process Technologies, Inc., ALPMA USA, Dahmes Stainless Inc., Great Lakes Cheese, Pine River Pre-Pack, ProActive Solutions USA, G & R Foods, Inc., Complete Filtration Resources, Dairy Connection, Wabash, FSNS, Darlington Dairy Supply, Wisconsin Aging & Grading Cheese, Inc., and Cybertrol Engineering.