Back when "buy local" was really the only option
if you wanted to eat (and not a marketing slogan), the people
of Green County, Wisconsin created a festival to promote their
local cheese. Visitors traveled by train, horse and carriage,
and Model T Ford to attend the first Green County Cheese Days
festival in 1914.
This year’s event will take place on September 17 –
19, 2010 – when once again the streets of the Historic
Courthouse Square in downtown Monroe will be filled with visitors
ready to polka, yodel, and consume cheese by the truckload.
Buying local is nothing new in Green County. For more than
100 years, over 90% of the milk produced from the 330 family
dairy farms has been made into cheese in one of the local
cheese plants.
Many changes have taken place since that first festival, but
the goals of the event have remained consistent: promoting
cheesemaking and dairy farming in Green County.
With 13 cheese plants, 1,500 farms, and more than 31,000
dairy animals, it’s no secret that cheese factories,
dairy farms and a variety of other ag-related businesses are
vital to the economy of Green County. The board of directors
for the Green County Cheese Days Festival is dedicated to
celebrating the area’s ag heritage in grand style, with
a weekend packed full of fun educational opportunities.
Ag-related highlights of the festival include:
DAIRY FARM TOURS
Cheese Days Dairy Farm Tours
were added back in 1982, long before the recent increased
nationwide interest from consumers in wanting to know how
and where their food is produced. Festival goers board a bus
to visit one of three dairy farms open for tours where they
will hear family farmers sharing information about their operations,
observe farm conservation practices, see what cows eat, and
learn how farm animals are cared for.
“Today less than one percent of our nation’s consumers
live on a farm, with many being 4 to 5 generations removed
from knowing anyone that farmed,” says Mark Mayer, Green
County UWEX agent, “and these tours help to educate
consumers about the level of investment, risk and labor that
goes into running a dairy farm to produce milk, cheese and
other dairy products.”
FAMILY FARM ADVENTURE FOR KIDS
Sponsored by Green County Farm Bureau and staffed by 4-H volunteers,
this tent has a variety of educational and hands-on stations
where families and kids can see how they measure up to farm
animals, learn about breeds of dairy cattle and how much cows
eat and drink, and answer dairy trivia questions to win prizes.
Kids can test their skills on the pedal tractor driving track,
or promote the dairy industry by trying on their very own
milk mustaches.
BARN QUILT TOURS
New this year are guided tours featuring the barn quilts of
Green County. Along the way - hear stories about the quilts,
the barns, and the families who are sharing their barns with
this rural art form. The tour includes a visit to the DeVoe
Farm – site of the 2010 Green County Breakfast on the
Farm.
COW MILKING CONTEST
An “udderly” good time thanks to area dairy farmers
& their happy herds! Meet friendly bovines representing
various dairy breeds – Holstein, Brown Swiss, Guernsey,
Jersey, and Milking Shorthorn. Watch as Cheese Days royalty,
local celebrities, and teams compete for prizes. Limited spaces
open to the public – those interested should arrive
prior to the contest to enter their names in the lottery drawing.
OLD TIME COPPER KETTLE CHEESEMAKING DEMONSTRATION
Watch as veteran cheesemakers create a 200-pound wheel of
Swiss cheese the old fashioned way in a giant copper kettle.
Festival goers are invited to help by stirring with the “Swiss
harp.” Making cheese on the Green County Courthouse
lawn has been a tradition for retired cheesemaker John Bussman
since 1970.
THE SWISS COLONY CHEESE DAYS PARADE
Led off by Brown Swiss cattle festively decked out with flowers
and bells, the giant parade on Sunday features ag-related
entries in just about every division. Many floats are themed
to honor cheesemaking or dairy farming – like St. Victor’s
School with a dairy spin on the Golden Rule (Do Unto “Udders”),
and Shakespeare on the Edge youth theatre group’s entry
seeking Romano instead of the usual ode to Romeo (“Romano,
Romano, Wherefore Art Thou Romano?”). \
Of special interest in this year’s parade is a float
marking the 100th anniversary of Maple Leaf Cheese Cooperative
in Juda. Also honored are current and veteran cheesemakers,
Green County Breakfast on the Farm host families, and Green
County’s Grand Champion Cheesemaker Steve Stettler of
Decatur Dairy in Brodhead.
TASTE OF GREEN COUNTY
Booths featuring local foods or those operated by local ag
promotion groups include cheese curds hand-battered and deep-fried
by the Monroe Optimists, grilled Ribeye Steak sandwiches by
the Green County Beef Producers, Butterfly Pork Chop sandwiches
by the Green County Pork Producers, ice cream and cream puffs
served by dairy queens from the Green County Ag Chest, breakfast
sandwiches made with local cheese by the Green County FFA
Alumni, and gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches by the National
Historic Cheesemaking Center.
Topping off the menu are local brews from New Glarus Brewing
Company and Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe.
Also part of the weekend is a Cheese and Beer Bread Recipe
Contest. Ten finalists will compete for the honors with recipes
containing local cheese and local beer on the list of ingredients
– with entries including Fat Feta Muffins, Banana Split
Beer Bread, and Totally Naked Pepperoni Bread.
CHEESE TENT
Sample cheese from a dozen area factories, and meet many of
the award-winning cheesemakers responsible for Green County’s
designation as the “epicenter of Wisconsin cheesemaking.”
In addition to all the opportunities to taste and learn, the
Cheese Days Festival offers three entertainment stages, Swiss
heritage and yodeling, an arts and crafts fair, vendor marketplace,
vintage tractor show, brewery tours, and polka lessons.
For more information about the oldest food fest in the Midwest,
visit www.cheesedays.com, or call 1.800.307.7208 to request
a brochure.
SIDEBAR IDEA
Grilled, battered, cubed, or with a glass of beer on the side
– there are so many ways to enjoy the cheeses of Green
County! Meet the cheesemakers and discover hundreds of varieties
in the Cheese Days Cheese Tent, attend a cheese and beer pairing
seminar in the Hospitality Tent, and don’t miss your
chance to try the Monroe Optimist hand-battered cheese curds
- a little nugget of heaven straight from the deep fryer.
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