State-of-the-art renovations to UW-Madison’s Babcock Hall are expected to revolutionize the Wisconsin cheese industry and bring the university’s iconic dairy production back to campus after a 3½-year hiatus.
People are also reading…
Casey Whyte, plant manager at the Babcock Dairy Plant, gives a tour of the facility. Whyte is one of the few people left in the state who can still calculate buttermilk fat percentages by hand — out of necessity, because the old plant didn't have the equipment to measure it digitally.
Renovations to the Babcock Dairy Plant and the Center for Dairy Research bring UW-Madison's facilities up to industry standards and go beyond what most companies have in their manufacturing plants.
John Lucey, director of the Center for Dairy Research, shows the inside of a ripening cooler that is storing Caciocavallo cheese, along with other cheeses, at the Center for Dairy Research.
Photos: U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 9
A wheel of Gouda after samples of it were removed and evaluated by judges.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
A variety of cheeses line a table in the Resch Expo center Tuesday at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. The event was founded in 1981 and has grown substantially over the years.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
Wheels of cheese await judging Tuesday at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
A statue of former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr greets visitors to the Resch Expo, home to the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
Cheese comes in all shapes and sizes for the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
The U.S. Championship Cheese Contest is being held this week for the first time since 2019 and is being held in the Resch Expo in Ashwaubenon.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
Cheese awaits judging.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 3
Wheels of hard sheep's milk cheese await judging at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
Judge John Jaeggi inputs results into a tablet Tuesday during the opening hours of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 2
John Jaeggi, left, of the Center for Dairy Research at UW-Madison, and Christophe Megevand, of Schuman Cheese in New Jersey, judge a block of smear-ripened, semi-soft cheese during the opening Tuesday of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Ashwaubenon. Jaeggi has seen firsthand the growth of the artisan cheese industry during his more than 45-year career in the industry.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
Visitors to the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest interact with the judges and are also able to taste the entries once the judging is completed.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
A wheel of semi-soft cheese is cut Tuesday by John Jaeggi, a judge at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 5
John Jaeggi inhales the aroma of a piece of cheese Tuesday during judging at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. Cheese also is judged by appearance, taste and texture.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 4
Steve Stettler, left, of Decatur Dairy near Brodhead, works with Bruce Workman, of Edelweiss Creamery in Monticello, to cut a wheel of Deppler Swiss. Both Stettler and Workman are master cheesemakers but are volunteering this week at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Ashwaubenon.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
A wheel of Swiss cheese from Deppler Cheese, after it was cut Tuesday with a wire.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 7
Tammy Alderman Miller, a cheese-sourcing manager at Colony Brands in Monroe, pulls a plug of Swiss from a wheel Tuesday as she prepares to judge the entry. Alderman Miller has more than 40 years of experience in the cheese industry.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 6
Wheels and blocks of Swiss await cutting Tuesday during the opening hours of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Ashwaubenon. The three-day event at the Resch Expo center features 2,249 entries from 35 states.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest 8
Visitors to the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest sample a wide variety of Wisconsin cheese. The offerings included Muenster from Zimmerman Cheese, spreads from Pine River and brick cheese from Widmer's.
U.S. Championship Cheese Contest
A team of 42 judges from around the country will work through Thursday at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest.
