WCMA Auction Supports Dairy Industry’s Future
An energetic crowd of dairy processors, marketers, and suppliers lifted their bidding paddles to support dairy industry education, training and research at the 2026 Novonesis Reception and Championship Cheese Auction held on April 15, 2026, at CheeseExpo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“It’s inspiring to see our industry come together with such enthusiasm and purpose,” said Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) Executive Director John Umhoefer. “The auction reflects a shared commitment to investing in people – supporting the next generation of dairy leaders, advancing research, and ensuring our workforce has the skills needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”
This year’s auction featured a total of 106 gold medal cheeses, butters, and yogurts from the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest, organized into 42 lots. WCMA sincerely thanks all of the winning bidders for their generous support: Actus Nutrition; Kelley Supply Inc.; Membrane Process & Controls, Inc.; Masters Gallery Foods, Inc.; ALPMA USA; Complete Filtration Resources; D.R. Tech, Inc.; Loos Machine & Automation; T.C. Jacoby & Co., Inc.; Nelson-Jameson, Inc.; Advanced Process Technologies - APT; Novonesis; dsm-firmenich; ProActive Solutions USA, LLC; Dahmes Stainless Inc.; Ivarson, Inc.; Great Lakes Cheese; Decatur Dairy, Inc.; Guggisberg Cheese; Klondike Cheese Company; Harry Davis & Company; Dairy Connection Inc.; Mohawk Technology; Sugar River Cold Storage; Bank of New Glarus; Hydrite; Trucent Centrifuge Parts & Repair; Atlantic Grain; and Pallet Service Corporation.
WCMA directs auction proceeds toward high-impact initiatives that strengthen the dairy pipeline. In 2026, the Association will make its second $30,000 installment toward a $90,000 commitment supporting operations, workforce training, and research at the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The WCMA Board has also committed new funding this year to expand support for dairy-focused educational programming at universities across the country.
This exciting giving joins a three-decade tradition of Championship Cheese Auction support for the future of the dairy industry. In 2025, WCMA increased its student scholarships to $5,000 per recipient, providing meaningful support to families of dairy processors and suppliers. Also following last year’s successful auction, the Association launched a $100,000 investment to establish a new fund at the Center for Dairy Research, supporting equipment, graduate students, and applied research initiatives that benefit the industry at large.
Auction funds also fuel improvements in our Championship Cheese Contests; growth of WCMA’s popular training programs for dairy manufacturers and suppliers; support for the Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest; and the original donations that sparked construction of the world-class Center for Dairy Research facility in Madison, the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center for Excellence at UW-River Falls and the South Dakota State University dairy pilot plant. Altogether, WCMA has invested $1.84 million in the industry’s future, thanks to generous auction bidders.