Cheese Competition
The American Dairy Goat Association welcomes your participation in the Goat Milk Products Competition, which will be held at the ADGA Annual Convention. The competition is open to both Commercial and Amateur Cheese and Confection makers.
If you have questions regarding the Goat Milk Products Competition, please contact Products Committee Chair Caroline Lawson at tlcgoats@gmail.com.
Participate in the Cheese Competition
Judges
Our 2025 Judges are Margaret Morris (Technical) and Zoe Brickley (Aesthetic). View their bios to learn more about each judge.
Prizes
Our Commercial Cheese Best in Show winner will receive a rosette and a $250 gift card, and our Commercial Cheese Reserve Best in Show winner will receive a rosette and a $150 gift card.
Our Amateur Cheese Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show Winners will each receive a rosette and a copy of the year’s cheese judge, Margaret Morris’s book, “The Cheesemaker’s Manual.”
The first, second, and third-place winners in each class (both commercial and amateur) will receive a ribbon.
Rules & Classes
Entries must follow best practices for safe cheese production.
***Site-specific rule for 2025***: Commercial producers providing products for the products reception must provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI). The COI must either be forwarded to the Products Committee Chair, Caroline Lawson, prior to the Convention or included with the products being provided. Please see the linked sample certificate and required verbiage for the COI. Vendor Insurance Requirement
Additional Information
Entry Deadline
Entries must be made using the online entry form and received by September 30th.
All entries must be received at the ADGA Convention Registration Desk at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Danvers, MA, no earlier than Wednesday, October 15, and no later than Saturday, October 18, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. Hand delivery may be made by prior arrangement by contacting Products Committee Chair Caroline Lawson at tlcgoats@gmail.com.
Those shipping cheese to the hotel must prominently mark packages as “ADGA Goat Milk Products Competition” and send them to the Convention Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston North Shore, Attn: ADGA Convention, 50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA.
Packages must contain a packing slip stating the number of boxes shipped, names, and the number of items in each box. Please include the unique name of each product and any relevant information about the make and flavoring on the entry form, especially if you have more than one entry in the same category. Please mark each of your entered product(s) with your unique ENTRY ID from your product entry confirmation. Make sure you mark the package(s) “Perishable” in large lettering in several spots if possible.