Cheesehead Proud!
June is Dairy Month in Wisconsin! Thousands flock to dairy breakfasts, farm tours, tastings and celebrations across the state. Cheese and butter sculptors shine as they carve and chisel amazing, edible masterpieces. Children learn as they enjoy dairy-related educational programs, food and activities.
Cooking and recipe competitions honor Wisconsin cheese, drawing thousands of delectable culinary creations. Artisan cheesemakers take center stage, sharing their unique, award-winning creations. Creameries and cheese factories buzz with business as visitors fill their coolers with fresh curds, blocks and chunks of cheesy treasures made only in Wisconsin.
We live in cheese heaven. Wisconsin produces over 600 types of world-class, award- winning, nutritious, delicious cheese! This is some of the best cheese in the world! Cheese is what Wisconsin does best and we wear our cheese hats with pride! We have over 1200 licensed cheesemakers, and are the only state that requires a license to make cheese; and a Master Cheesemaker Program. Many makers have been honing their craft for generations.
This unparalleled quality and standard of excellence certainly shows. Wisconsin cheese has swept up more awards than any other state or country at the 2018 World Championship Cheese Contest, the US Championship Cheese Contest and the World Cheese Awards!
With more than 8,000 dairy farms and 1 million cows, Wisconsin produces almost 3 billion pounds of delicious cheese per year and 47% of all specialty cheeses made in the US according to the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Cheese website states, “If Wisconsin were a country, it would rank 4th in the world for cheese production!” That is an amazing statistic! It is no surprise we are known as The Dairy State and America’s Dairyland.
Wisconsin has a cheese for everyone, whether mild or sharp, something buttery, peppery, creamy, robust, or artisanal. If you can’t visit a farm, producer, take a tour or attend the festivities, you can still delight in the tastes and textures of what Wisconsin has to offer. Celebrate Dairy Month with a sampling of epicurean treats from Wisconsin from Maple Ridge Farms!
