Wisconsin has been an international leader in dairy and cheese technology for more than 150 years!

Dairy farming and cheesemaking date back more than 160 years, before Wisconsin was even granted statehood in 1848.

Wisconsin's first cheesemakers were farm wives who, in the 1830s, began making cheese in their kitchens.

Wisconsin's first cheese "factory" was started by Anne Picket.

She started by gathering milk from her southcentral Wisconsin neighbors and producing cheese for all of them to share.

By 1900, Wisconsin had become a powerful player in cheese production nationally and, by 1910, Wisconsin was the nation's top producer.