Photos: World Dairy Expo over the years
The World Dairy Expo has evolved significantly since its debut in September 1967, when it was called the World Food Exposition. One constant is that it’s been held in Madison, on the grounds of what’s now the Alliant Energy Center.
1967
1967
1967
1978
World Dairy Expo, Oct. 18, 1978
1981
World Dairy Expo, Oct. 1, 1981
1988
World Dairy Expo, Oct. 6, 1988
1988
World Dairy Expo, Oct. 6, 1988
1991
World Dairy Expo, Oct. 5, 1991
1992
World Dairy Expo, Oct. 1, 1992
1997
(Published caption 10/1/97) Judging began Thursday at the World Dairy Expo, which runs through Sunday.
2000
Cattle shows that include judging the world's best Guernsey cows remain strong at the World Dairy Expo even though financial problems are plaguing the dairy industry.
2003
It's the judges being judged this time, not the cows. Intercollegiate-level cattle judges rank groups of cows as part of a judging competition at the World Dairy Expo Tuesday, September 30, 2003. the student-judges were shown cows in groups of four and were asked to rank their quality in numerical order. WSJ/Sarah B. Tews (PUBLISHED 10/2/03) Students from around the country took part in cattle-judging competitions Tuesday at the Alliant Center, ranking groups of four cows or heifers from one to four and then defending their choices in short speeches before a judge.
2005
Derek Johnson of Unadilla, N.Y., leaves the Alliant Center show ring Oct. 4, 2005, with the Grand Champion animal in the International Junior Holstein Show at the World Dairy Expo.
2007
Student judges examine a cow Oct. 1, 2007, during the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging contest at the Dane County Coliseum.
2009
View of vendors inside the Alliant Energy Center Exposition Hall during World Dairy Expo, Tuesday, September 29, 2009, in Madison, Wis. Mike DeVries - The Capital Times
2011
World Dairy Expo attendees swarm the Purple Cow Gift Shop area at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011. M.P. King-State Journal
2011
One of two robot arms guided by a laser and a camera demonstrates DeLaval's Automated Milking Rotary (AMR) at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. One of the arms cleans and prepares the cow udder for milking: the other arm connects it to the milker. Only three such systems are operating in the world, in Sweden, Germany and Australia. A DeLaval representative said it will be available in the US in the next two and one-half years. Craig Schreiner -- State Journal (Published on 10/06/2011) One of two robot arms guided by a laser and a camera demonstrates DeLaval's Automated Milking Rotary at the World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center. One of the arms cleans and prepares the cow's udder for milking, the other connects it to the milker.
2011
Kyle Dean, left, and Brandon Dillinger, right, both 14 of Whitewater, take a squeezable "stress cow" from the VitaPlus booth at the World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011. M.P. King-State Journal
2013
Katie Gillette, 8, left, of Whitewater, and her cousin, Emily Schmidt, 6, of Delavan, wash Diva, an Ayrshire cow, during the World Dairy Expo at Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Oct. 2, 2013.
2014
Entrants wait in line for a chance to show their animals prior to judging at the World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, October 1, 2014. John Hart -- State Journal.
2014
Participants in Jersey cow judging arrange their entries during competition at the World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, October 1, 2014. John Hart -- State Journal.
2015
Contestants show their 5-year-old Guernsey cows in the Coliseum during the World Dairy Expo at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Friday, October 2, 2015. AMBER ARNOLD -- State Journal (Published on 10/3/2015) Contestants show their 5-year-old Guernsey cows in the Coliseum on Friday during the World Dairy Expo at Alliant Energy Center. Today is the last day of the five-day event.
2015
Bryan Wendt of Bryan's Detailing in Rio, Wis. applies tire dressing to a 21-foot-tall John Deere forage harvester as exhibitors and vendors gather on the grounds of the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. for the opening of the 2015 World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. JOHN HART -- State Journal
2016
Mariah Fjarlie of Athens, Wisconsin, washes cows for Rancho Teresita Dairy of Tulare, Calif., at the Alliant Energy Center's New Holland Pavilions in advance of the World Dairy Expo on Sept. 29, 2016.
2017
Competitors show their cows during the International Junior Holstein Show at the World Dairy Expo in the Coliseum at Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
2018
A visitor to the World Dairy Expo makes his way past a livestock barn at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. The five-day global dairy showcase, which draws tens of thousands annually into the area, concludes on Saturday. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
2019
Inga Witscher, of the PBS television show "Around the Farm Table," tends to the 2019 Wisconsin Cow of the Year for the taping of a segment on the opening day of the World Dairy Expo on Oct. 1, 2019. The Jersey cow is owned by the Wussow family of Oconto County.
2019
Friends and family members of Michelle Wolf, of Epworth, Iowa, use a tarp to keep Wolf's Ayrshire Spring yearling dry and show-ready for the World Dairy Expo on Oct. 1, 2019.
“The only home World Dairy Expo has known is Dane County, Wisconsin, and we are ready to welcome the dairy industry’s premier event back to our community this fall,” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said.
Laura Herschleb has been the organization's marketing manager since 2018.
The event that concludes Friday features the most cows since 2016, while attendance could hit 60,000, a 12,000-person increase over 2021.
The Expo has signed a five-year agreement with Dane County to remain at the Alliant Energy Center through 2028.
Thousands of bovine beauties will fill the Alliant Energy Center grounds for the event.
