Wisconsin lawmakers to try again to make Colby Wisconsin’s official state cheese

State Senate Committee on Government Operations is scheduled to hear the arguments Tuesday.

By Benjamin Yount | The Center Square

Published: January 17, 2022 4:32pm

Updated: January 17, 2022 10:55pm

(The Center Square) -

Colby cheese is up for another day of debate in Wisconsin on Tuesday.

The state Senate’s Committee on Government Operations, Legal Review and Consumer Protection is scheduled to hear the arguments for and against making Colby cheese Wisconsin’s official state cheese yet again.

The plan, SB 371, from Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls, is not new. It is also not popular.

Lawmakers have turned down the proposal several times. Not because they don’t like Colby cheese, but because in Wisconsin there are so many cheeses to recognize.

“There’s like 100 cheese factories in the state of Wisconsin, and 25 of them sit in my Assembly district. So I consider myself the cheese-guru,” Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville said during a July hearing on the Colby cheese plan. “I like Colby, but I also like a lot of other cheeses.”

Supporters want to recognize Colby cheese because it originated in Colby, Wis.

Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled for 10:15 am.