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The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is supported by Wisconsin ’s Dairy Producers. In Wisconsin , dairy farming is a $20.6 billion dollar industry that positively impacts Wisconsin ’s communities.

Please visit the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board website to find tasty dairy recipes, dairy education, news, and resources.

Wisconsin would be a very different place without the dairy industry. Find out how you can do your part in supporting family farmers near you.

The Heritage and Tradition Behind Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry

1. Wisconsin’s first cheesemakers were farm wives who, in the 1830s, began making cheese in their kitchens as a way of storing excess milk.

2. In 1841, Anne Pickett made cheesemaking history when she established Wisconsin ’s first cheese factory by adding milk from neighbors’ cows to her own production.

3. By 1850, Wisconsin farm wives were producing 400,000 pounds of cheese per year, and selling it for an average of 7 cents per pound. (Today, Wisconsin ’s 115 cheese plants produce more than 2.3 billion pounds of cheese annually.)

4. John J. Smith buys Wisconsin ’s first cheese vat in 1858 and begins producing cheese in Sheboygan County . Smith also is 1 st to market Wisconsin cheese outside the state.

5. In 1859, Hiram Smith, a dairy farmer on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, founds a full-scale commercial cheese factory. He purchases milk from other dairy farmers, or pays them a percentage of the finished cheese.

6. In 1871, Samuel Hoard and six other dairy industry leaders form the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association in Jefferson County to provide leadership and direction for Wisconsin ’s dairy industry.

7. In 1872, the Wisconsin Dairymen’s Association sponsors a new Board of Trade in Watertown , which establishes procedures to market Wisconsin cheese.

8. Colby cheese is invented in Colby, Wisconsin, in 1874. Brick cheese is developed in Dodge County several years later. Brick is named for its shape – and because cheesemakers originally used bricks to press whey from the cheese.

9. By 1886, the University of Wisconsin ’s College of Agriculture offers short courses for dairy farmers and cheesemakers – and sends experts into the field to extend the education process, establishing UW extension.

10. In 1890, the nation’s first dairy school is created at the University of Wisconsin.

11. Also in 1890, Stephen Babcock of the University of Wisconsin develops the milkfat test that allows dairymen to determine which cows produce the richest milk – the best for cheesemaking. This test is still used today.

12. In 1921, Wisconsin becomes the first state to establish cheese-grading standards to ensure consistent quality and flavor.

13. Wisconsin dairy farms produce 22 billion pounds of milk every year. That’s about 13% of the country’s total milk supply.

14. Wisconsin is the No. 1 cheese-producing state, making more than one of every four pounds produced in the U.S.

15. Wisconsin ’s cheese plants manufacture more than 2.3 billion pounds of cheese every year – 90% of which is sold outside the state’s borders.

16. Wisconsin has about 1,300 licensed cheesemakers – more than any other state.

17. Wisconsin has the country’s most stringent state standards for cheesemaking and overall dairy product quality.

18. Wisconsin ranks first among all states in the production of Cheddar, American, Provolone, Brick, Muenster and Limburger cheeses.

19. Wisconsin leads the nation in the production of specialty cheeses, such as Asiago, Gorgonzola, Gruyere, Aged Cheddar, Gouda, Blue and many others.

20. Wisconsin is home to 115 cheese plants – more than any other state in the country – that produce more than 500 varieties, types and styles of Wisconsin cheese -- nearly double that of any other state.

21. Wisconsin is the first state to establish a dairy research center (1986). The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison , helps companies develop new dairy products, new uses and new technologies.

22. In cooperation with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and UW Extension, Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Research established the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker ® program in 1994, the first of its kind in the United States . To date, 44 graduates, representing 29 Wisconsin cheese companies and 28 cheese varieties, have completed the program.