Nearly a dozen prospective cheese buyers from five Middle Eastern countries will be in Wisconsin June 26-29 for an 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 experience a “360 view” of Wisconsin’s dairy industry through tours of cheese plants, meetings with dairy industry leaders, and a mini-trade show where they’ll meet one-on-one with Wisconsin cheese companies.
Media professionals are invited to attend select events during the trade mission, including a welcome briefing Wednesday, June 26 in Madison, and the mini-trade show June 28 in Mount Horeb.
The delegation will arrive in Madison mid-day Wednesday, June 26 and will be welcomed by state and industry officials, including DATCP Deputy Sec. Randy Romanski; Patrick Geoghegan, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin senior vice president of corporate communications; John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association; and Debra Wendorf Boyke, outreach program manager for 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. Later in the day, the group will visit supermarkets featuring “store within a store” cheese niche areas, as well as Fromagination, a specialty cheese shop on the Capitol Square.
Friday, the foreign cheese buyers will travel to a mini trade show in Mount Horeb for one-on-one meetings with more than a dozen Wisconsin cheese companies and freight forwarding companies who assist in exporting products.
Events open to media are:
International Cheese Buyers Welcome/Briefing
Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Time: 1 p.m.-2 p.m.
Location: Hilton Madison Monona Terrace, 9 E. Wilson St., Madison.
Who: Cheese buyers from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar; DATCP Deputy Sec. Randy Romanski and representatives from Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, and the Center for Dairy Research.
Mini Trade Show/ One-On-One Meetings
Date: Friday, June 28, 2019
Time: 8 a.m.-noon; 1:15-4 p.m.
Location: Century Barn, 2505 Hwy. 78, Mount Horeb
Who: Cheese buyers from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar; Wisconsin cheese producers; freight forwarding companies.
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