April 10, 2024 

Oregon Dairy Industries Elliker Cheese Tray – Salem Convention Center, OR 

People’s Choice Awards 

Today over 200 people from across the dairy industry gathered at the ODI Elliker Cheese Tray, the social finale and fund raiser of the 112th Annual ODI Conference. The cheese tray has long been a closing feature of the conference for participants to gather, socialize, and enjoy both local and international cheeses accompanied by fine Oregon wines and beers. Beyond providing relaxed networking time, a goal of the cheese tray is raising funds to support the ODI Bodyfelt Scholarship endowment for OSU Food Science students. This year’s silent and live auctions grossed more than $7,000 increasing the endowment beyond $300,000 and assuring scholarships in perpetuity. 

A recent addition to the cheese tray has been the People’s Choice Awards where each attendee is supplied with 3 poker chips to vote for their 3 favorite cheeses from the 39 cheeses offered in 2024. This year’s most popular cheeses were: 

1st Place - Cougar Gold from Washington State University, Pullman, WA 

2nd Place- Smokey Blue from Rogue Creamery, Central Point, OR 

3rd place- Daniel’s Reserve from Daniel’s Artisan`, Ferndale, WA 

Marc Bates, cheeseguy@charter.net 

For the ODI Cheese Tray committee