Winning by volunteering

WEST ALLIS, Wis. — For over two decades combined, two volunteers have witnessed the growth of a statewide dairy products contest. Dairy farmer Joan Oberhaus, and seasoned judge, Randy Swensen, are among the many volunteers whose efforts are on display at this year’s Wisconsin State Fair.

On June 19, judges and assistant volunteers gathered at the Wisconsin State Fair Park to evaluate over 500 entries across 50 classes in the annual dairy products contest. Among the volunteers is Swensen, chief judge for the cheese and butter entries.

“The contest is impressive to watch and see,” Swensen said.

Swensen has nearly 35 years of experience in the dairy industry. His involvement began when, as a young man, local dairy farmers sought him as the one to call when they needed help. Milking cows helped him pay for college tuition. From there, one opportunity continued after the next.

“Next thing I know, I’m grading cheese, being asked to judge and help with the (dairy products) contest,” he said.

As chief judge, Swensen has helped the contest continue to grow.

“It’s growing because of the support through the dairy industry,” he said. “The word gets out.. So it goes hand-in-hand with the dairy industry, all the way from the farmer through to the cheesemakers.”

Likewise, Oberhaus sees the contest as bringing the industry together.

“It’s everybody working together to keep this industry going,” she said. “It’s pride in the whole industry. When we (my husband, Tom) were milking twice a day, you worked hard to send a good quality product to market, and it’s also very rewarding to see what these cheesemakers can make out of a good quality product.”

Today, Oberhaus and her husband have formed a partnership on the farm, which has allowed her to volunteer more, especially with the Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Promotion Board, including assisting with the annual contest.

“It takes quite a few volunteers to have all (the cheeses) organized so the judges can just go through and judge it,” she said. “At the end of the day, they pull out all the first-class winners.”

Swensen oversees judging in classes ranging from aged cheddar to string cheese to salted butter.

“The judges will sample the cheese by pulling a sample out and putting it up to their nose, smell it right away, feel it in their fingers and check the bodies and roll it around a bit,” Swensen said. “Then they will taste it, looking for flavors of acidity or bitters.”

Swensen also oversees the butter judging. Like cheese, judges look for flavors and inconsistencies.

After more than a decade of volunteering with the contest, Oberhaus said it is interesting to know what the judges are looking for in a blue-ribbon cheese.

“It’s fun to see the variety of cheeses that are made in Wisconsin,” she said. “Sometimes we get stuck in a rut of (eating) cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss, and don’t realize all the great varieties that are out there to try, and the beautiful job that the cheesemakers make.”

The contest was once just a cheese contest but has now evolved into the dairy products contest with recent class additions like custard.

Winning entries are announced before the Wisconsin State Fair. The top honors, including the overall Grand Master Cheesemaker and the grand champion butter, yogurt, sour cream, milk and custard, were kept for a surprise announcement at the auction Aug. 7.

The auction serves as a fundraiser for the Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Promotion Board, supporting educational exhibits at the park such as the new Cow to Cream Puff display in the newly remodeled dairy building at the fairgrounds. Also, proceeds help support Wisconsin residents studying dairy-related or food science degrees.

The auction is important to the dairy industry because all these cheeses that are auctioned support the next generation coming through, as most of the funds go to scholarships, Swensen said.

The auction also serves as a reunion for many Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy professionals. The winning entries  are also featured in display cases at the Wisconsin Products pavilion. As well, the flavors of some of last year’s cheese winners are served at the grilled cheese stand.

“The state fair contest is more of a local (contest) — just Wisconsin,” Swensen said. “So a lot of these people who enter the contest know each other. It’s fun.”

The fair not only brings together those involved in dairy product production, but also people from across the state. Last year’s attendance broke a record of 1,136,805 visitors according to Wisconsin State Fair officials.

“There are over one million people that come to the state fair,” Oberhaus said. “I think it’s good to be in front of that crowd and give them an opportunity to enjoy some dairy products and learn some background of what goes on in Wisconsin as far as our industry.”

Both Oberhaus and Swensen are passionate volunteers. Oberhaus serves on the Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Promotion Board of Directors.

“As a board, we’re trying to cover the fair park with dairy,” Oberhaus said.

For Swensen, it is his way of helping the dairy industry grow.

“I want to give back to the industry,” Swensen said. “This is my way to do it.”