The International Cheese and Dairy Awards are a world-renowned dairy competition that takes place each year in the United Kingdom. This year it will be taking place June 27, 2024, in Stafford, England.

As USDEC has done with other international cheese competitions, we would like to encourage participation in the event by offering to cover the entry costs for all U.S. cow’s milk (including mixed milk) cheeses.  No export capabilities are required to participate. Registration closes in May, but we encourage you to register early as we may run out of sponsorship spots, depending on demand.

How to Enter the ICDA and Benefit from USDEC Sponsorship

1. You can begin the entry process in March (date TBD) on the ICDA website. 
   1. If you’ve participated in the ICDA before you can log in to your account and begin registering cheeses, but if you haven’t participated before you will need to register for a new account. 
2. This year there will be 15 categories that you will be able to enter free of charge, and we encourage you to enter as many eligible cheeses as possible. When you register, please select any of the categories beginning with “Best USA Cheese” (class numbers DP455 through DP469). Entries in these categories will be processed with no registration cost to you, and we encourage you to enter as many eligible cheeses as possible into these categories. 
   1. A reminder that these categories are only for cheeses produced with U.S. cow’s milk (including mixed milk).
   2. Entry into other classes is encouraged, however, it will incur the standard entry costs and USDEC will not reimburse entry costs into other classes. 

Once you have registered your cheese, please reach out to Alex Parker (aparker@usdec.org) and Nuhami Alemu (nalemu@usdec.org) with the number of entries and the categories they were entered in.

We are also excited that we will again be recognizing the top USA Cheese at the competition! The winner of the top USA Cheese will be able to highlight their achievement with a seal that can be displayed on your packaging and website. You will also receive the Best USA Cheese trophy to display at your facility during the year! We hope to have a large contingent of U.S. produced cheeses at the show.

Please reach out to Alex Parker (aparker@usdec.org) with any questions.