Dairy Contest
Eligibility
All entries must be made from Bovine milk. No product(s) will be accepted if sourced in whole or in part from the milk of other lactating mammals. Members of IMPA may submit qualifying entries to the contest at no charge. To qualify, entries must be made from milk within the states of Idaho, Utah, Washington and Oregon. There is an exception for the Farmstead and Artisan classes (see below). Please refer to www.IMPA.US for membership information and contest rules. Rules are posted on the website and will be mailed out this summer with the entry packet.
Entries to Class 14 & 15 must be processed from within one of the following eligible states: Idaho, Utah, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, or Oregon. Non-IMPA Members may submit entries only if they qualify within Classes 14 & 15 and at a cost of $75 per entry submission. We encourage you to enter as many classes as you wish and look forward to your entries.
Contest Category Classes
Class 1 – Current Cheddar Cheese - Cheese less than 3 months old; must be manufactured on or after
May 11, 2026; date of manufacture to be stated on the entry form
Class 2 - Medium Cheddar Cheese - Cheese 3 to 6 months old; must be manufactured between Feb 11 and May 11, 2026; date of manufacture to be stated on the entry form
Class 3 – Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Cheese 6 to 12 months old, manufactured on or between August 11, 2025 and Feb 10, 2026; date of manufacture to be stated on the entry form
Class 4 – Aged Cheddar Cheese – 12- 24 months old, manufactured on or between August 11, 2024 and
August 11, 2025; date of manufacture to be stated on the entry form
Class 5 – Aged Cheddar Cheese – Cheese older than 24 months, manufactured before August 11,
2024; date of manufacture to be stated on the entry form
Class 6 – Colby/Monterey Jack – Colby, Monterey Jack, Muenster and any other mixed, washed curd cheeses
Class 7 – Hard Italian Cheese – Class to include Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, cotija types of cheese, cheese with a rind, etc.; date of manufacture and brief description to be stated on the entry form
Class 8 – Soft/Semi-soft and Fresh Italian Cheese – Class includes fresh cheese, mozzarella, string cheese, provolone etc.
Class 9 - Spiced Cheese – Cheese flavored with peppers of any kind, peppercorns or savory spices (Open
to all varieties of base cheese); please provide a brief description of the cheese to aid in judging
Class 10 – Flavored Cheese – Cheese flavored with herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, syrups or smoked
cheeses (Open to all varieties of base cheese); please provide a brief description of the cheese
Class 11 – Open Reduced Fat Cheese – Cheese manufactured to contain a minimum of 20% less fat
than the normal composition standard, to include all reduced fat products
Class 12 - Open Class: blue cheese, mascarpone, ricotta, continental cheeses, cheese spreads, and any products that do not meet the requirements of the other classes; please provide a brief description
Class 13 – Swiss Cheese – Swiss cheese and baby Swiss; please indicate which type and date of manufacture
Class 14 – Farmstead* – Limited to cheese and fermented milk products made with bovine milk from
herds on the farm of where the products are produced; please provide a brief description of the entry
Class 15 – Artisan* - Total production of cheese and/or cultured product must not exceed 500,000 lb. per year. Products must be commercially available at the time of the contest
Class 16 – Cultured Dairy Products – all cultured products including yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream or yogurt-based dips and spreads.
Class 17 – Butter – to include all types of butter
Class 18 - Granular Cheese for Manufacturing
Class 19 – Dairy Powders – to include all types of dairy powders. Type e.g. NFDM, WPC, WPI, etc. must be designated on the entry form.
*Classes 14 and 15 only, are open to all to processors from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and Washington. If you are not an IMPA member, there is a $75.00 entry fee/ entry, payable to IMPA.
The contest rules allow each Member Company to enter any number of contest classes. If you enter more than one entry per class, a separate individual must be assigned to each entry. If more than one entry is submitted in the same class by the same individual, it will be the right of the contest judges to randomly select one entry before judging begins, (multiple pieces required to meet minimum weight do not apply). 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place ribbons will be presented for each class. The class awards will recognize the manufacturing company as well as the individual assigned to the entry.
Each Class Champion will be auctioned at the IMPA Conference Wine and Cheese Social on Thursday, August 13, 2026, to fund the IMPA Scholarship Program. Second-place winners will be displayed and available for tasting at the wine and cheese social Thursday evening. All remaining entries will be donated to local food banks. We look forward to another successful contest!
If you have any questions regarding IMPA membership and benefits, see www.IMPA.US. If you need information regarding the contest, please reach out to the Dairy Contest Chair Julie Winans; 920-390-9933 or julwi@novonesis.com. We look forward to your participation and can’t wait to see the amazing creations from the artisan cheese community.
An entry packet will be sent to you in July. It is your responsibility to properly ship your entries to assure arrival in good condition.
All entries must be delivered or shipped to Glanbia Nutritionals Production plant in Twin Falls, ID to arrive on or between the dates of Monday August 3 and Friday August 7.
Ship to:
ATTN: Dalibor Bampa
IMPA Cheese Contest
Glanbia Nutritionals
236 Washington Street So.
Twin Falls, ID 83301
208-733-3226
Please review the rules of the IMPA 2026 contest at www.IMPA.US. The Board of Directors of your IMPA hopes this competition will serve not only as a measure of excellence but as an educational tool to recognize how your dairy products measure up to other Inter-Mountain and Western Dairy Processors. Thank you for your participation and support of the local dairy industry.
Intermountain Milk Processors Association
Dairy Contest Chair
