MADISON (NBC 26) — Multiple Northeast Wisconsin cheese makers are competing at the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest beginning Tuesday in Madison.
23 cheese makers from our viewing area will be vying for the title of best cheese in the world, with their products among 3,375 entries across 150 classes of dairy products.
The full list of participating manufacturers from our area is below:
- Agropur of Little Chute, Luxemburg, and Weyauwega, Wisconsin
- Arla Foods of Kaukauna, Wisconsin
- Bel Brands of Little Chute, Wisconsin
- BelGioioso Cheese of Denmark, Wisconsin
- Cedar Valley Cheese, Inc. of Belgium, Wisconsin
- Deer Creek Cheese of Sheboygan, Wisconsin
- Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery of New London, Wisconsin
- Emmi Roth of Seymour, Wisconsin
- Foremost Farms USA of Appleton, Wisconsin
- Henning Cheese of Kiel, Wisconsin
- Land O’Lakes of Kiel, Wisconsin
- Leon’s Cheese of Kewaunee, Wisconsin
- Masters Gallery Foods of Oostburg, Wisconsin
- Mosaic Meadows – La Clare Creamery of Malone, Wisconsin
- Pine River Dairy of Manitowoc, Wisconsin
- Pine River Pre-Pack of Newton, Wisconsin
- Renard’s Cheese/Rosewood Dairy of Algoma, Wisconsin
- Ron’s Wisconsin Cheese of Kewaunee, Wisconsin
- Saputo Cheese USA of Black Creek, Wisconsin
- Sargento Foods of St. Cloud, Wisconsin
- Schreiber Foods of Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Weyauwega Cheese of Sheboygan, Wisconsin
- Willow Creek Cheese of Berlin, Wisconsin
Preliminary rounds of judging are open for the public Tuesday and Wednesday, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison. Samples are available and attendance is free.
The winner will be announced Thursday at 2 p.m. You can stream the announcement on the event's website or Facebook page.
