Release Date: June 14, 2019
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Media Contact: Rick Hummell, Senior Communications
Specialist
608-224-5041 richard.hummell@wisconsin.gov
MADISON – Nearly a dozen prospective cheese buyers from five
Middle Eastern countries will travel to Wisconsin later this month for a
multi-day International Buyers Mission showcasing the state’s cheese and dairy
industries.
The cheese buyers –
from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar – will be here June 26-29 to experience a “360
view” of Wisconsin’s dairy industry through tours of cheese making plants, meetings
with dairy industry leaders, a dairy farm tour, and a mini-trade show where the
buyers will meet one-on-one with Wisconsin cheese making companies and
exporters. Two Middle Eastern food writers/bloggers joining the delegation will
share details of the Wisconsin experience with their readers.
Similar to a successful event held last year, the international
buyers mission is part of the Wisconsin Initiative for Dairy Export (WIDE)
program, a collaborative effort by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture,
Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW), the
University of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Research and other leading dairy
organizations. DATCP has hosted international buyers missions for more than a
decade.
The upcoming visit to Wisconsin is part of a larger trade
mission that will have the international delegation also making stops in New
York, Vermont and Illinois. The U.S. visit is being coordinated by the U.S.
Dairy Export Council, with assistance from state and government agencies and
dairy industry leaders, and DATCP and DFW taking lead roles in coordinating the
Wisconsin event.
“Wisconsin dairy products are some of the highest quality and
are sought by customers from around the world. Developing and growing new
markets, including in the Middle East, is a top priority as we work to grow our
exports,” said DATCP Secretary-designee Brad Pfaff. “We look forward to
showcasing our state’s dairy industry and the quality foods we produce to
consumers from around the world.”
“Growing exports and emerging markets are a key priority for
us,” said Chad Vincent, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin CEO. “We need to expand
international market access for Wisconsin dairy and generate growth in a
challenging industry while showing everyone that Wisconsin leads the nation and
world for farmers, farming and dairy.”
The international delegation will arrive in Wisconsin about
mid-day Wednesday, June 26, and will be welcomed by state and industry
officials, including DATCP Deputy Secretary Randy Romanski; Patrick Geoghegan,
DFW senior vice president of industry relations and marketing; John Umhoefer,
executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association; and representatives
from the Center for Dairy Research. The group also will hear a presentation by
Dr. Steve Ingham, administrator of DATCP’s Division of Food and Recreational
Safety, about state rules and regulations governing the dairy industry.
Thursday, the delegation will tour several cheese making plants
in southern Wisconsin, including Carr Valley Cheese, Mauston; Meister Cheese
Company, Muscoda; and Cedar Grove Cheese, Plain. Later that day they will visit several
supermarkets featuring prominent “store within a store” cheese niche areas, as
well as Fromagination, a specialty cheese shop on the Capitol Square.
Friday, the group will travel to an event barn in Mount Horeb
where they will participate in one-on-one meetings with more than a dozen
Wisconsin cheese companies, as well as freight forwarding companies who assist
in exporting product.
“I am confident that our foreign visitors will be impressed by
the high-quality dairy products and cheese making process we have in our
state,” stated Pfaff. “Our quality, variety, and craftsmanship literally sells
itself.”
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