The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker program, the nation's only advanced training course of its kind for experienced cheesemakers, has graduated three new and four returning master cheesemakers. With the 2013 graduates, Wisconsin has 56 active masters who together hold certification for a total of 33 cheese varieties and represent 31 companies.

"Wisconsin's cheese industry is like no other, in part because of the depth of professional resources available to cheesemakers here. The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker program is a big part of that," says James Robson, CEO at the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), one of the program's founding partners. "The cheesemakers who earn the right to carry the Master Cheesemaker title are an exceptional group. Their passion for their craft and dedication to improving their knowledge and skills through this unique and rigorous course of study and evaluation sets them — and the Wisconsin cheesemaking tradition — apart."