Tag: NMPF cheese and yogurt contest

Prairie Farms Wins NMPF Cheese and Yogurt Contest

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Prairie Farms Dairy won the Chairman’s Award in this year’s NMPF Cheese and Yogurt Contest, a mark of co-op quality and prestige.

This year’s annual edition of the cheese and yogurt contest for member cooperatives included 252 entries from 14 participating NMPF co-ops, a total of 3,350 pounds (1.52 metric tons) of cheese and yogurt. The high-quality cheeses and yogurt from the NMPF membership highlight U.S.-made dairy products and our continuing promotion of the REAL® Seal.

The entered products are assessed against scoring standards for the ideal cheese or yogurt in each class. NMPF thanks the judges for helping with the contest this year: Ms. Allison Reynolds (lead judge), USDA, Dairy Grading Branch, Turlock, California; Mr. Timothy Meyers, College of DuPage, Glenn Ellyn, Illinois; Dr. Gina Mode, CDR, University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Chad Galer, Dairy Management Inc., Rosemont, IL.

Prairie Farms won for its Cave Aged Rinded Swiss, produced in Faribault, MN. Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery won the Chairman’s Reserve Award for its Pepperoni with Marinara Rub produced in Menomonie, WI. Best in Class awards included:

  • Best Cheddar – Makers Reserve Extra Sharp White Cheddar 2014 from Tillamook County Creamery Association, Tillamook, OR
  • Best Cottage Cheese – Peach Yogurt from Dairy Farmers of America, Farmington, MN
  • Best Italian – Pasteurized Blue Cheese from Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., Faribault, MN
  • Best Yogurt – Triple Cream Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt from Agri‐Mark, Inc., Cabot, VT

In a first, the cheese contest was featured in an RFD-TV news package, highlighting the contest’s value to members and its rich history.

Extra cheese and yogurt from the contest and dairy products from the dairy bar were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is a private, nonprofit organization that collects, stores and distributes donated food to more than 625 feeding partners in seven Central Florida counties: Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia.

Last year, with the help of numerous donors, volunteers and a caring, committed community, the food bank distributed enough food for 81 million meals to partner programs such as food pantries, soup kitchens, women’s shelters, senior centers, day care centers and Kids Cafes.

Ellsworth Wins Top Cheese Prize; Scholarship Program Raises $12,000

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Ellsworth took the top prize, while a yogurt also took high honors in the first-ever inclusion of that category, in prizes awarded in the annual dairy contest held in conjunction with NMPF’s annual meeting.

The NMPF Chairman’s Award went to Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery for their Pepperoni with Marinara Rub cheese, which achieved a 99.8 score. Agri-Mark received the Chairman’s Reserve Award for its 10% Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt, which also won the award for best yogurt. Tillamook County Creamery Association earned the Best Cheddar award for its 2012 Makers Reserve, while Foremost Farms won the best Italian Cheese for its Mozzarella, and Prairie Farms won the Best Cottage Cheese competition as well as the most overall ribbons, with 18.

Some of the other highlights of this year’s meeting at the Gaylord Rockies hotel included:

  • The NMPF Town Hall meeting Tuesday morning, which provided an interactive session with the organization’s staff to explain key policy issues;
  • A look at the current consumer, dairy and retail market landscape from John Crawford of IRI;
  • A presentation from CoBank CEO Tom Halverson about the economic outlook for U.S. agriculture in 2023;
  • An on-stage sustainability podcast with NMPF staff and industry experts;
  • Discussions of current domestic and international sales and strategies for future success;
  • An exploration of nutrition issues and efforts related to various childhood cohorts – from pre-natal to infants to school-aged youths;
  • A forecast on the November elections from The Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman.
  • NMPF and dairy industry organizations promoted next year’s hosting of the IDF World Dairy Summit in Chicago, part of an industry focus on food security over the coming year. The summit was also promoted at a panel held Oct. 20 in Des Moines, Iowa as part of the annual World Food Prize conference.
  • The NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program raised more than $12,000 through its annual raffle and fundraising efforts. The scholarship program supports graduate students enrolled in Master’s or doctoral programs who are actively pursuing dairy-related fields of research that directly benefit milk marketing cooperatives and the U.S. dairy industry at large.

Next year’s NMPF meeting will be held November 12-15 at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando, FL.