Prairie Farms took home 20 ribbons, including the Chairman's Award, the contest's highest honor, for Cave Aged Rinded Swiss Cheese and Best Italian Award for Pasteurized Blue Cheese, during the annual National Milk Producers Federation Cheese and Yogurt Contest.
Prairie Farms won more awards than any other company competing in the contest, the company stated. The awards ceremony was held during the 2023 Joint Annual Meeting of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), and United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA), which took place in Orlando from Nov. 13 to15.
"Operating a dairy farm requires being on the job 365 days a year. Our farm families work tirelessly to provide high-quality milk to our dairy plants, and our employees are committed to turning milk from our farms into the finest dairy products available in the marketplace," said Prairie Farms' Board President Frank Doll and Prairie Farms' CEO/EVP Matt McClelland in a joint statement. "Quality has been the cornerstone of Prairie Farms’ success for 85 years, both on our farms and in our plants, so the NMPF awards really belong to every person within our farm-to-table network, and we were proud to accept the honors on their behalf."
This year, 14 NMPF co-ops competed for 75 awards in 24 categories. Prairie Farms came out on top, receiving 27% of the awards, including two top awards and sweeps in four categories: Hard & Mold Ripened Italian, Swiss, Plain Yogurt, and Flavored Yogurt: • Swiss Cheese: 1st place – Faribault, Minnesota; Cave Aged Rinded Swiss. 2nd place – Luana, Iowa; Swiss. 3rd place – Luana, Iowa; Baby Swiss. • Hard & Mold Ripened Italian Cheese: 1st place – Faribault, Minnesota; Pasteurized Blue Cheese. 2nd Place – Mindoro, Wisconsin; Heat Treated Gorgonzola. 3rd place – Mindoro, Wisconsin; Pasteurized Blue Cheese. • Flavored Yogurt: 1st place – Wichita, Kansas; Lemon. 2nd Place – Kansas City, Missouri; Peach. 3rd Place – Wichita, Kansas; Peach. • Plain Yogurt: 1st place – Kansas City, Missouri. 2nd Place – Wichita, Kansas. • Reduced Fat Cottage Cheese: 1st place – Wichita, Kansas; 2% Small Curd. 3rd Place – Kansas City, Missouri; 2% Small Curd. • Cottage Cheese: 1st place – Quincy, Illinois; Small Curd 4%. 2nd place – Chandler, OK; Regular Small Curd. • Open Class: 1st place – Luana, Iowa; Neufchatel. 2nd place – Luana, Iowa; Cream Cheese. • Natural Cheese Snack: 2nd place – Shullsburg, Wisconsin; Chipotle Cheddar Curd.
The Prairie Farms' marketing team was also recognized at the NMPF annual meeting for entries submitted in a communications contest. The team received the "Best of Show" and 1st place awards for the "Celebrating 85 Years of Feeding American Families" marketing campaign, 1st place for News Story, featuring the Prairie Farms’ mascots, and 2nd place for Portrait Photography, featuring the Compton family from Columbia, Ky.
