Wisconsin will not lose its title as the number one cheese producer any time soon, as predictions that California would soon surpass Wisconsin in cheese production prove to be incorrect.
In recent years, California has been waging a cheese production competition with Wisconsin, trying to become the nation's leading producer of cheese.
Both states make some great products and there are a lot of different factors [to the production of cheese],"" said Dick Groves, publisher and editor of The Cheese Reporter, a specialty magazine focusing on cheese.
Currently the economy in Wisconsin favors producing more cheese and the economy in California favors producing less cheese, he said.
According to Groves, if California ever surpasses Wisconsin in cheese production, Wisconsin's economy would not be heavily affected because Wisconsin cheese factories would still produce 2.5 billion pounds of cheese per year, regardless of California's cheese production.
He said California already produces more milk and butter than Wisconsin, but the dairy industry is much more important to Wisconsin's economy and identity than California's.
""It's been 15 years since California has passed us in milk production and we are still driving around with 'America's Dairyland' on our license plates,"" Grove said.
Patrick Geoghegan, senior vice president of corporate communications for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, said Wisconsin cheese factories are not in a ""horse race"" with California cheese factories.
""[Wisconsin cheese producers] are focused on producing the best quality cheese they can,"" Geoghegan said.
According to Geoghegan, California might pass Wisconsin in cheese production some day, but California's production increase will not have any effect on Wisconsin cheese factories and their relationships with customers.
Wisconsin has 120 relatively small factories and California has around 200 larger factories, he said.
""Our production has gone up and their production has flattened out, the scale of their dairy industry is very different than ours,"" Geoghegan said.
Ranee May, UW-River Falls faculty associate and dairy plant manager, said Wisconsin still has the reputation of producing high quality cheese and the additional competition from California is good.
""Californians are still ordering cheese from our food store,"" May said.
According to May, Wisconsin's cheese production is different than California's because in Wisconsin each dairy plant has its own specialty.
