2024 World Championship Cheese Contest
Top Awards for Prairie Farms Dairy at World Championship Cheese Contest
Prairie Farms Neufchâtel is voted 'Best of Class'
Edwardsville, Ill. (March 15, 2024) - The world’s premier technical cheese, butter, and yogurt competition was held in Madison, Wisconsin, last week, with cheese makers from across the globe bringing their best creations for a panel of industry renowned judges to review. Following three days of intense taste judging and scrutiny, Prairie Farms cheeses and yogurts earned top spots in four categories, including a ‘Best of Class’ award and a 99.7 score in the Reduced Fat Soft & Semi-Soft Cheeses category for its Neufchâtel cheese made in Luana, Iowa. The Luana plant was also awarded a third-place finish for its Baby Swiss cheese in the Baby Swiss Style category.
In the Cottage Cheese category, Prairie Farms’ Quincy, Illinois team took second and third place with 4% Large Curd and 4% Cottage Cheeses. Those products earned 97.95 and 97.945 scores, respectively. The Quincy team also secured second and third place finishes for its strawberry and strawberry banana low-fat yogurts in the Low-fat Yogurt, Cow’s milk category. Those products earned 98.125 and 97.625 scores.
"We're starting the year with incredible momentum, and I'm proud that our Quincy and Luana teams have been recognized for their craftsmanship,” said Matt McClelland, CEO/EVP of Prairie Farms Dairy. “Making top-quality cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt is an art, and the World Championship Cheese Contest awards prove our teams are among the best in the industry. At the same time, we never lose focus on the fact that quality starts on the farm. So, the awards belong to our hard-working dairy farmers as well."
The World Championship Cheese Contest, hosted by The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, is the largest technical cheese, butter, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredient competition in the world. The contest's 53 judges represent dozens of nations and have earned the respect of cheesemakers around the world. These awards follow another year of top finishes for Prairie Farms dairy products in 2023, including sweeps of the Cottage Cheese Category and a “Best of Class” award for 2% cottage cheese at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest; a trio of top finishes for Neufchâtel, Swiss, and Gorgonzola cheeses at the American Cheese Society Judging and Competition; multiple category sweeps for milk, dips, and ice cream at the World Dairy Expo Dairy Product Contest; and the most awarded dairy company at the NMPF Cheese and Yogurt Contest with 20 total ribbons, 2 top awards, and 4 category sweeps for cheeses and yogurts.
Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful dairy cooperatives operating in the Midwest and the South. Elements of the cooperative include more than 600 farm families, 7,000 associates, 47 manufacturing plants, 100+ distribution facilities, and annual sales of over $4.69 billion. Prairie Farms is a nationally recognized leader in the dairy industry known for setting the standard for milk flavor innovations and producing award-winning milk, cheese, and cultured dairy products. With headquarters in Edwardsville, Ill., the Prairie Farms distribution footprint covers over 30 percent of the United States; products are available in grocery chains, mass merchandiser stores, club stores, convenience stores, dollar stores, drug stores, schools, foodservice outlets, and warehouse distribution centers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Darin Copeland
618-659-5191
[email protected]
