Despite winning awards at almost every turn, being recognized by his peers is still humbling for Agropur Cheese Technical Manager Roger Krohn. His latest award came last week when his smoked provolone won first place for best smoked cheese at the 2021 Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Products Competition. A Master Cheesemaker in mozzarella and provolone, Krohn has been involved in the industry since working in the family business as a teenager. In that time, Krohn says he has learned what it takes to earn those few fractions of a point it takes to win the top prize when he is competing against other great cheesemakers.
Krohn admits he does not have every plaque made anymore and not every medal and ribbon sees the light of day after a while. After a decades-long career in the cheesemaking industry, his biggest thrill now comes from people enjoying the products he works hard to craft.
Krohn credits the staff and the high-quality milk they process at their Luxemburg plant for their award-winning cheese, which also includes a second-place finish in the mozzarella category. Krohn was not the only local cheesemaker to gain recognition at the Wisconsin State Fair. Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese in Luxemburg garnered the top prize in the unflavored cheese curd category. Cheese operations manager Ben Shibler said they were excited and humbled by their ranking and like Krohn credited their production team and the high-quality milk from Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy for their success.
Listen to our podcast with Roger Krohn
