Wisconsin dethroned?

“Cheese” by Thomas Hawk

It’s the cheese

I’m beginning to think California is to the nation’s agriculture as China is to US manufacturing. ;) And whether or not the cows here are truly “Happy Cows,” they are definitely out-producing the ones shivering back in Wisconsin, doncha know. California cows surpassed the Badger State’s bovines in sheer milk production back in 1993, and now (thanks to them) we are on our way to overtaking our colder brethren in another key dairy area: cheese.

AP: California on track to dethrone Wisconsin as cheese capital.

Last year, California turned out 2.14 billion pounds of cheese - nearly a quarter of the nation’s supply. The total marked a huge increase from 1985, when the state had only about 7 percent of the national market.

The growth has put California within striking distance of the 2.4 billion pounds produced every year in Wisconsin, the state that bills itself as “America’s Dairyland.”

Wisconsin’s share of the growing national cheese market has fallen from more than a third in 1985 to just over a quarter last year.

Nancy Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the California Milk Advisory Board, said it’s hard to predict exactly when California will overtake Wisconsin, but the production trends make it just a matter of time.

Of course, it’s not just about the numbers, as any Cheesehead will be quick to point out. Which is why the artisanal production in California is impressive as well.

Small cheese-makers, meanwhile, have caught the attention of gastronomes while producing about 10 percent of California’s output.

Marin French Cheese Co. in Petaluma took a gold medal for its Triple Creme Brie at the 2005 World Cheese Awards in London, making it the first non-European cheese producer to take top honors in the category.

Another gold medal at those awards went to Modesto’s Fiscalini Cheese Co. for its San Joaquin Gold, which began as a failed attempt to make fontina.

We’ve got the wine, and now we’ve got the cheese. Can beer be far behind? ;)