Wisconsin Ag Connection - Foreign Cheese Buyers Making Wisconsin Visit This Week

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Foreign Cheese Buyers Making Wisconsin Visit This Week
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 08/06/2018

More than a dozen cheese buyers from South and Central America, Mexico and the Middle East are in Wisconsin this week for a multi-day reverse buyers mission aimed at showcasing the state's cheese industry. The group of foreign buyers will visit a half-dozen creameries and cheesemakers around the state and tour several large supermarkets with extensive cheese displays. They will also make stops at the University of Wisconsin's Center for Dairy Research and a mini-trade show with nearly 20 Wisconsin cheese companies before wrapping up their trip with a visit to the Wisconsin State Fair for the annual Cheese and Butter Auction.

"The reverse buyers mission will provide a 360 view of the Wisconsin cheese industry," said Jack Heinemann, director of DATCP's International Agribusiness Center, which is co-sponsoring the mission. "Our goal goes beyond just lining up potential international buyers with Wisconsin cheesemakers and sellers--we want to provide them with a Wisconsin experience that will have a lasting effect. When the buyers return home, we want them to make it clear to others involved in their domestic food industries that Wisconsin is number one in the world in the cheese and dairy business."

The reverse buyers mission is an initial activity developed as part of the new Wisconsin Initiative for Dairy Export program, which is a collaborative effort between DATCP and UW's Center for Dairy Research and other leading dairy organizations to grow new market and product opportunities.

State Ag Secretary Sheila Harsdorf says showcasing the state's dairy industry and the quality foods produced here will prompt buyers from around the world to expand international market access for Wisconsin agriculture.

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