AMPI adds awards to trophy case
AMPI board members and NMPF leaders pose with award-winning cheese at the 2024 NMPF Annual Meeting. Pictured are, from left, Dave Peterson, Boyd, Wis.; Joshua Dickmann, Pierz, Minn.; Dennis Hawkins, Chippewa Falls, Wis.; Steve Schlangen, Albany, Minn.; Sheryl Meshke, AMPI president and CEO; Randy Mooney, NMPF chairman of the board; Jon Schmidt, Owatonna, Minn.; Doug Temme, Wayne, Neb.; and Gregg Doud, NMPF president and CEO.
Dairy farmer-owned co-op’s cheeses take top honors
New Ulm, MN — Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) is bringing home awards following the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) Championship Cheese Contest. Cheesemakers at the cooperative’s Sanborn, Iowa, plant made the first-place Monterey Jack cheese, while the team at the co-op’s Jim Falls, Wis., plant earned first prize for a Habanero Cheddar. In New Ulm, Minn., buttermakers made the first place flavored butter. The AMPI team in Blair, Wis., earned third-place honors in the highly competitive Mild Cheddar class.
“These awards recognize years of expertise and steadfast commitment to quality throughout our cooperative, from our dairy farmer-owners to the cheesemakers in our plants,” said Mike Wolkow, AMPI senior vice president of operations. “Crafting great dairy products is both a science and an art, and our team is dedicated to bringing the best of both qualities together in our award-winning cheese and butter.”
In the past five years, AMPI cheeses tallied 37 top-three finishes in national and international competitions.
AMPI is headquartered in New Ulm, Minn., and owned by dairy farm families from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. AMPI is the largest farmer-owned cheese cooperative in the U.S. The cooperative’s cheese, butter and powdered dairy products are marketed to foodservice, retail and food ingredient customers. The co-op launched its Dinner Bell Creamery brand and accompanying Co-op Crafted promise in 2019, highlighting more than 50 years of dairy farm families partnering with skilled dairy craftsmen to make great-tasting, award-winning products.
