MONROE - Cheese bidders were back in the game this year, paying more than $69 per pound on average for Green County Fair cheese entries.
The 2013 Green County Fair Blue Ribbon Cheese Auction, sponsored by the Foreign Type Cheesemakers Association, brought in more than $34,000 for 496 pounds of cheese on Sunday, July 21, at the Green County fairgrounds in Monroe.
The auction raised almost $21,000 last year for 489 pounds, averaging $42.80 per pound. It raised $25,000 for 400 pounds in 2011 and about $34,000 in 2010, when five pounds of the grand champion Muenster went for $1,000 per pound.
Money raised goes toward local organizations and community projects, including Cheese Days, National Historical Cheesemakers, United Way of Green County, Green County Fair, Apostolate to the Handicapped, Green County Dairy Breakfast, and Green County Historical Society.
Steinmann Stainless Fab of Monroe placed the top bid, $170 a pound for the winning Swiss cheese made by Silvan Blum of Chalet/Deppeler Cheese. Badger State Propane bid $165 for a second 5-pound chunk of the same lot. The remaining Swiss sold for $105 to $160 per pound. Blum and Neal Schwartz of Chalet Cheese made all of the 40 total pounds of Swiss, which took in $6,000, averaging $150 per pound.
The highest Baby Swiss bid was for $165 a pound from Faith Engineering. The lot was made by Brian Zimmerman of Zimmerman Cheese. Faith Trucking actually started the Baby Swiss bidding craze by snatching the first blue ribbon piece for $160 per pound, this one made by Mike Nelson of Chalet Cheese. Sixty pounds of Baby Swiss brought a total of $6,125, and ranged in price down to $75 per pound. The average price: $102 per pound. Chad Duhai of Zimmerman Cheese was the other Baby Swiss cheesemaker.
Faith Engineering bid $160 per pound for brick, the highest bid in this class, made by Steve Stettler of Decatur Swiss Cheese. Quest Industrial took Stettler's second 6-pound piece for $150 per pound. Bidders shelled out $4,410 total for the 48 pounds, averaging $91.88 per pound. Bids went as low as $75 per pound. Dennis Schliem and Walter Hartwig of Zimmerman Cheese and Ron Bechtolt of Klondike cheese were the other brick cheesemakers.
Cheddar sold for more than $93 a pound on average. Precision Drive and Control laid down $155 a pound for the Green County gold, made by Roger Larson of Maple Leaf. Dairy Direction got the first 5-pound chunk at $115 a pound. Gary Grossen of UW Babcock Hall Dairy was the other cheddar maker. Together, the cheesemakers sold 48 pounds totaling $4,467.
Grossen's Green County Fair 2013 Grand Champion Gouda went for $52.50 a pound for the single, 10-pound lot to Radio Shack of Monroe.
The Foreign Type Cheesemakers Association hopes to raise extra funds this year and next year to bring a 17-member band from Switzerland, led by Anton Schmutz, to the 2014 Green County Cheese Days to help celebrate its 100th anniversary. Many of the band members are cheesemakers, and Schmutz has been head of Switzerland's association for traditional cheese making, Käsekunst, (cheese art ) and of the national association of cheese makers, Fromarte.
The 2013 Green County Fair Blue Ribbon Cheese Auction, sponsored by the Foreign Type Cheesemakers Association, brought in more than $34,000 for 496 pounds of cheese on Sunday, July 21, at the Green County fairgrounds in Monroe.
The auction raised almost $21,000 last year for 489 pounds, averaging $42.80 per pound. It raised $25,000 for 400 pounds in 2011 and about $34,000 in 2010, when five pounds of the grand champion Muenster went for $1,000 per pound.
Money raised goes toward local organizations and community projects, including Cheese Days, National Historical Cheesemakers, United Way of Green County, Green County Fair, Apostolate to the Handicapped, Green County Dairy Breakfast, and Green County Historical Society.
Steinmann Stainless Fab of Monroe placed the top bid, $170 a pound for the winning Swiss cheese made by Silvan Blum of Chalet/Deppeler Cheese. Badger State Propane bid $165 for a second 5-pound chunk of the same lot. The remaining Swiss sold for $105 to $160 per pound. Blum and Neal Schwartz of Chalet Cheese made all of the 40 total pounds of Swiss, which took in $6,000, averaging $150 per pound.
The highest Baby Swiss bid was for $165 a pound from Faith Engineering. The lot was made by Brian Zimmerman of Zimmerman Cheese. Faith Trucking actually started the Baby Swiss bidding craze by snatching the first blue ribbon piece for $160 per pound, this one made by Mike Nelson of Chalet Cheese. Sixty pounds of Baby Swiss brought a total of $6,125, and ranged in price down to $75 per pound. The average price: $102 per pound. Chad Duhai of Zimmerman Cheese was the other Baby Swiss cheesemaker.
Faith Engineering bid $160 per pound for brick, the highest bid in this class, made by Steve Stettler of Decatur Swiss Cheese. Quest Industrial took Stettler's second 6-pound piece for $150 per pound. Bidders shelled out $4,410 total for the 48 pounds, averaging $91.88 per pound. Bids went as low as $75 per pound. Dennis Schliem and Walter Hartwig of Zimmerman Cheese and Ron Bechtolt of Klondike cheese were the other brick cheesemakers.
Cheddar sold for more than $93 a pound on average. Precision Drive and Control laid down $155 a pound for the Green County gold, made by Roger Larson of Maple Leaf. Dairy Direction got the first 5-pound chunk at $115 a pound. Gary Grossen of UW Babcock Hall Dairy was the other cheddar maker. Together, the cheesemakers sold 48 pounds totaling $4,467.
Grossen's Green County Fair 2013 Grand Champion Gouda went for $52.50 a pound for the single, 10-pound lot to Radio Shack of Monroe.
The Foreign Type Cheesemakers Association hopes to raise extra funds this year and next year to bring a 17-member band from Switzerland, led by Anton Schmutz, to the 2014 Green County Cheese Days to help celebrate its 100th anniversary. Many of the band members are cheesemakers, and Schmutz has been head of Switzerland's association for traditional cheese making, Käsekunst, (cheese art ) and of the national association of cheese makers, Fromarte.