MADISON - Although Wisconsin is called "America's Dairyland" and is renowned for its dairy products worldwide, it does not yet have an official state dairy product.
That may change, however, thanks to a bill drafted by Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, that proposes to make cheese Wisconsin's official state dairy product.
Marklein and Novak drafted the bill after a presentation from several fourth-grade classes at Mineral Point Elementary School.
"They did a lot of homework and a lot of research," Marklein said. "They definitely captured the importance of cheese to the state."
Wisconsin already has several state symbols that acknowledge the importance of the dairy industry to the state - milk is the official state beverage, and the dairy cow is the state domesticated animal - but the bill would highlight the state's prodigious cheese production.
Wisconsin produces 3 billion pounds of cheese each year, more than any other state in the union, and is the fourth-largest cheese producer in the world, behind the U.S., France and Germany, according to a statement from Marklein's office.
"We're really the home of cheese," Marklein said.
The bill will be introduced pending co-sponsorship.
"The bill isn't something I would have done on my own, but I'm more than happy to take what the students have done to the next step," Marklein said.
This is not the first time students have named a state symbol. In 2003, a fifth-grade class in Kenosha made a presentation that eventually led to the cranberry being named the state fruit.
No other state has an official state dairy product, although many states, including New York, Missouri, Minnesota and Virginia, name milk as their state beverage.
Gail Zeitler of the Foreign Type Cheesemaker Association said the bill would "be good for advertising."
"It's good for the state for our cheese to get recognition," Zeitler said.
That may change, however, thanks to a bill drafted by Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, that proposes to make cheese Wisconsin's official state dairy product.
Marklein and Novak drafted the bill after a presentation from several fourth-grade classes at Mineral Point Elementary School.
"They did a lot of homework and a lot of research," Marklein said. "They definitely captured the importance of cheese to the state."
Wisconsin already has several state symbols that acknowledge the importance of the dairy industry to the state - milk is the official state beverage, and the dairy cow is the state domesticated animal - but the bill would highlight the state's prodigious cheese production.
Wisconsin produces 3 billion pounds of cheese each year, more than any other state in the union, and is the fourth-largest cheese producer in the world, behind the U.S., France and Germany, according to a statement from Marklein's office.
"We're really the home of cheese," Marklein said.
The bill will be introduced pending co-sponsorship.
"The bill isn't something I would have done on my own, but I'm more than happy to take what the students have done to the next step," Marklein said.
This is not the first time students have named a state symbol. In 2003, a fifth-grade class in Kenosha made a presentation that eventually led to the cranberry being named the state fruit.
No other state has an official state dairy product, although many states, including New York, Missouri, Minnesota and Virginia, name milk as their state beverage.
Gail Zeitler of the Foreign Type Cheesemaker Association said the bill would "be good for advertising."
"It's good for the state for our cheese to get recognition," Zeitler said.