Wisconsin is the State of Cheese for a reason: cheesemakers use the high-quality milk to craft more award-winning cheeses than any other state or country! We head around Wisconsin to a few distinct destinations across the state that celebrate our state’s unique dairy heritage.
Tour the Farm
Hop on a bus tour of a working dairy farm at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center in Manitowoc. A minibus takes visitors to the farm where an educational video guides the half-hour tour. While at the farm, the bus drives through a free stall barn that houses over 2,700 dairy cows.
Field to Fork Table
Practice your pairings and create a delicious, nutritious meal at the Field to Fork table at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center. With something interactive and educational around every corner, the Field to Fork table allows visitors to plan meals using Wisconsin-grown ingredients.
Combine Simulator
Control a combine through the tractor simulator at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center. Learn how technology is integrated into all steps of the farming process so the farmers can grow more food to feed the world with less land and resources.
Heritage Cheesemaking
Learn about the history of heritage cheesemaking at the National Historic Cheesemaking Center in Monroe. With a mission rooted in preserving and protecting the heritage of early cheesemaking, this center celebrates the traditions of cheese and those who craft it in and outside of Wisconsin.
Imobersteg Cheese Factory
Take a tour of the Imobersteg Cheese Factory to explore how cheese was made in the late 1800’s. Alfred and Anna Imobersteg moved to Wisconsin from Switzerland in 1890 and soon thereafter opened the cheese factory where they produced dairy deliciousness until it closed in 1917. The factory and original equipment remained untouched until 2009 when it was moved to the National Historic Cheesemaking Campus and restored by the museum.
Living Machine
Peek at the plants at Cedar Grove Cheese and learn how sustainability plays a big part in their cheesemaking process. One of the biggest waste products coming out of the cheese factory is water. Cedar Grove Cheese built its Living Machine greenhouse to naturally clean the wastewater before it goes back to the earth. Within this process, wetland plants are added to the tanks whose roots trail in the water and use the wastewater nutrients to grow.
Pairings with Cedar Grove Cheese
Pair Cedar Grove Cheese with fruit or assorted vegetables that grow from the on-site Living Machine. The wetland plants that grow within the wastewater tanks produce fruit such as grapes and figs which make the perfect pairings for their homemade cheese.
150-Year-Old Nasonville Dairy
Cherish the cheese from Nasonville Dairy who produces award-winning Wisconsin cheese with over 150 years of experience. Nasonville Dairy is home to over 24 cheese varieties and converts a whopping 1.5 million pounds of milk into 150,000 pounds of cheese a day!
Soft Serve
What better way to enjoy a hot summer day than to savor some soft serve from Weber’s Farm Store. Since 1904, Weber’s delivers the freshest local dairy products from milks and cheeses to beef and eggs.
Weber’s Farm Store Drive-Thru
For more convenient service, Weber’s Farm Store opened a drive-up window in the late 50’s and has been offering dairy on-the-go since. DW Tip: Order fresh curds from the drive-thru at Weber’s Farm Store to enjoy a cheesy squeak from the driver’s seat!
Taylor Carruthers is a producer and member of the Discover Wisconsin team. Watch Discover Wisconsin on Saturday mornings at 10am on Fox Sports Wisconsin and stream episodes now on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Smart TV, Chromecast, and on discoverwisconsin.com.Â
