While the national economy remains in a recession, the cheese making industry has continued to grow, thanks in part to the contributions of Wisconsinites and the University of Wisconsin.

Industry growth was evident at the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association’s United States Championship Cheese Contest in March. A new record of 681 cheeses had been entered from 21 states.

“This year’s contest grew by only 2 percent, but we’re pleased to see more entries and a greater variety of cheeses despite a sluggish national economy,” said John Umhoefer, executive director the WCMA, said in a release.

Although Wisconsin has long held the reputation of being America’s “dairyland,” it has been surpassed in recent years by other states in dairy production. Those in the state’s cheese-making industry still pride themselves in quality over quantity.

“Wisconsin is the only state in the union that does require you to have a license to make cheese. Food safety people are very much in favor of that because it makes them feel reassured people are making a safe and healthy product,” said Mike Gingrich, a dairy farmer and co-owner and operator of Upland Cheese Company in Dodgeville. Gingrich walked away with WCMA contest’s “Best in Show” for his Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

Gingrich started Upland Cheese with his wife and another couple four years ago. Gingrich had to work for 18 months as a cheese-making apprentice to qualify for his license before opening his own cheese production company.

“It has been an outstanding experience,” Gingrich said of his startup company. “The Center for Dairy Profitability at the University really helped us get off the ground.”

Gingrich said that Upland Cheese Company worked closely in refining his recipe, which is called a “make procedure” in cheese making.

“The folks at Babcock Hall were a big help to us,” Gingrich said.

To enter the WCMA’s nationwide contest, all cheese producers had to do was register and send in a sample of their product. Gingrich sent a 10-pound wheel of his best, ripened smear into the contest, which was held in Milwaukee and coincided with the Wisconsin Restaurant Association conference.

“On Wednesday of that week, I went on the website and saw we had won our category and would go onto the ‘Best in Show’ competition,” Gingrich said.

By coincidence, a friend gave Gingrich and his wife tickets to the restaurant convention, so they were present when their company’s product took the title.

“It was great to see the cheese industry in the nation growing,” said Moshe Rosenberg, a professor and specialist in the department of food science at the University of California-Davis, who was one of 11 cheese experts asked to judge the WCMA contest.

Rosenberg has judged cheese competitions for over 20 years and said he was especially excited to see the development of specialty cheeses in the United States.

“It was pleasing to see a champion that wasn’t a cheddar or a mozzarella, which are what U.S. manufactures primarily focus on,” Rosenberg said. “Specialty cheeses are produced around the world but traditionally not in the U.S. It’s nice to see that attention being paid.”