Colby cheese bill gets hearing
For the Hub City Times
MARSHFIELD – A bipartisan bill being considered in the state Assembly would make Colby the official state cheese. The bill’s author, Representative Donna Rozar of Marshfield, says Colby is a uniquely Wisconsin invention and deserves recognition.
“Colby cheese has international appeal. It created a process by which a lot of cheeses are now made, and it is the story of how a small community in Wisconsin can make history. We believe that the unique rural history of Colby cheese makes it deserving to be listed in the state Blue Book. Some people don’t agree with us. We are not in any way saying that Colby cheese is the best cheese. It’s that entrepreneurial rural Wisconsin history that makes Colby cheese special. People in Colby are very excited about it,” she said.
Wisconsin currently does not have a state cheese. A previous attempt to make Colby the state cheese did not make it out of the legislature in 2019.
Colby cheese was developed in 1885 by Joseph Steinwand and named after Colby.
Over the years the legislature has officially recognized a number of official of state symbols, such as the badger, the musky, the dairy cow, and of course milk as the official state beverage.