NY State Fair Dairy Products Judging – A Cornell and NY State Agriculture & Markets Partnership for Over 35 Years

By: Steve Murphy, Senior Extension Associate, Cornell Dairy Foods Extension

Have you ever seen that dairy company truck driving down the road with “We’re Number One” on its side? How about a billboard with “Gold Winner” or a Blue Ribbon attached to a dairy product?  Have you picked a package of cheese lately that said “First-Place” winner?  These, along with personal and company pride, are all the potential benefits of entering (and winning) a class in the NY State Fair Dairy Product Judging Competition held for NY State dairy companies every year.

The competition is administered by NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM), Division of Milk Control and Dairy Services. Cornell University Dairy Foods Extension, in one of its many partnerships with NYSDAM, has played an active role in the judging and publicity nearly since the competition began.  Professor Dick March had the role of representing Cornell until 1977 when Professor Dave Bandler took over.  The original judging was done on the State Fair Grounds, but after one year of “hot, humid and flies,” Dave brought the judging to Cornell in 1979, where it has been ever since.

In the early days of the competition, cheddar and mozzarella cheese were the primary products judged.  As the dairy industry in NY expanded and product lines grew, other classes were added. Today there are 7 Divisions and 21 classes ranging from cheddar (current, aged and super aged) to cream and cottage cheese products to fluid milk.  Some of the newest additions include yogurt (both plain traditional and any flavor “Greek”-style); cheese made from milk other than cow’s milk (e.g., goat, sheep); and Farmstead or Artisan cow’s milk cheese (“made by hand using traditional

 

methods in small vats of no greater than 300 gallon capacity – any variety”).  Almost all dairy products made in the state are eligible to enter; all that needs to be done is fill out an entry form and send in the product by the deadlines.

The competition is currently coordinated by Charles “Chip” Lindberg of NYSDAM who is a frequent invited judge of national and international cheese competitions.  Chip coordinates a team of experienced judges including other current and former NYSDAM members, industry experts, professors from other NY State colleges with dairy programs, and Cornell Dairy Foods Extension faculty and staff, including Professor Emeritus Dave Bandler.  While most product classes are judged based on standardized criteria of flavor, texture and appearance some products such as certain artisanal cheeses do not have standardized criteria; these are still judged on flavor, texture and appearance with a perspective of the uniqueness of the cheese.  In each class, there are first and second place winners as well as awards of excellence for products that score high in the judging but do not place.  For fluid milk, products are not sent in for the judging, but plants in the Milk Quality Improvement Project’s (MQIP) Voluntary Shelf-life Program are automatically eligible based on the results of the VSL program (to be discussed in a future newsletter).  “The contest’s partnership between NYSDAM and Cornell has been an unqualified success in my book,”  says Chip Lindberg.

Specific information on the NY State Fairy Dairy Products Competition can be found at:

NY State Fair Competitions Homepage

How to Enter

Dairy Products Competition Rules & Classes

Dairy Products Competition Entry Form

Entry forms are currently available and must be returned by July 14, 2014.  The fee is $8.00 per entry and restrictions apply.  All judging will be done at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.  Products must be sent to Cornell the week before the judging, which will start on Monday, August 11, 2014 and be completed by August 13, 2014 with notification of winners soon thereafter.   The official awards ceremony will be held at the NY State Fair in Syracuse NY on Dairy Day, August 25, 2014.  Good Luck!!

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