Business View Magazine | July 2019

10 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JULY 2019 Cheesemaker program – the nation’s most advanced education program in the art and science of cheesemaking. Its rigorous standards are a key factor driving Wisconsin’s dairy innovation and leadership forward, despite an increasingly competitive national and global marketplace. Becoming a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker is no small feat. It requires ten years of experience as a licensed cheesemaker, several years of coursework, a three-year apprenticeship, a written exam that can take up to 50 hours to complete and a lifetime commitment to cheese. The time it takes to complete the program is comparable to the time it takes to become a doctor. “It’s no secret that Wisconsin wins more awards for its cheese than any other state, region or nation,” says Suzanne Fanning, Senior Vice President for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin and Chief Marketing Office for Wisconsin Cheese. “What may be a secret, though, is Wisconsin’s own Master Cheesemaker program. It is one of the key drivers for our state’s high honors.” It’s an intense commitment and impressive accomplishment to become a Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker - one that only 90 cheesemakers have achieved in the past 25 years. Wisconsin and Switzerland are the only places in the world with this level of education. Wisconsin began making cheese before it was even a state and the first people to settle in Wisconsin were expert cheesemakers from places like Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Their cheesemaking expertise was one of the few things they brought with them. They chose Wisconsin because the soil, water, and climate provided the perfect conditions for doing what they’d been doing for centuries in the Old World…making great cheese. To celebrate this momentous milestone, Wisconsin Cheese is traveling the country to tell these stories and showcase the new personalized Master’s Marks, which identify products only made by Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers. It’s no secret that Wisconsin wins more awards for its cheese than any other state, region or nation