World's premier technical dairy competition, world record in Madison, Wisconsin

October 10, 2025

Madison, Wisconsin, United States--The World Championship Cheese Contest is judged by international experts for quality in cheese, butter, and yogurt, and hosted biennially in Madison, Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association; in 2025, the contest featured 2,414 entries from 31 states among the 117 classes of products, setting the world record for being the World's premier technical dairy competition, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

Photos: Facebook/World Championship Cheese Contest

"The World Championship Cheese Contest is the world's premier technical dairy competition, judged by international experts for quality in cheese, butter, and yogurt, and hosted biennially in Madison, Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association.

"The next competition will be held in March 2026, with entries judged on flavor, body, texture, and other attributes after starting from a perfect 100-point score."(AI Overview)

What it is:

A prestigious event for dairy products, with a focus on cheese.
t is the largest competition of its kind, attracting thousands of entries from around the world.
The contest aims to recognize excellence and elevate the reputations of competing cheesemakers.

Key features:

Technical judging: A panel of international experts meticulously evaluates each entry based on a technical scoring system, where points are deducted for defects.
Bi-annual event: The competition has been held every two years since 1957.
Global participation: Dairy manufacturers from numerous countries submit their products for evaluation.

When and where:

Location: Madison, Wisconsin, USA, at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
Next Contest: March 3-5, 2026.

How it works:

Entries are scored starting from 100 points, with points deducted for deviations in flavor, body, texture, color, salt, finish, and packaging.
Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are awarded in each class.
The top-scoring entries are then considered for the overall World Champion title.

"The World Championship Cheese Contest® is the world’s premier technical cheese, butter, and yogurt competition. The World Contest has been hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association biennially since 1957," the official website says.

"The next World Championship Cheese Contest will be held in March 2026, at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

"Entries are evaluated by a team of skilled technical judges from all over the world. Starting from a maximum possible 100 points, deductions are made for various defects found by each judge. Defects are noted in the areas of flavor, body and texture, salt, color, finish, packaging, and other appropriate attributes. A Gold medal, Silver medal and Bronze medal are awarded to the three highest-scoring entries in each class."

"Roth® Cheese, Wisconsin makers of award-winning specialty cheese, took home three awards this week at the 2025 United States Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay, Wisconsin," the Emmi Roth says.

"Roth Grand Cru® Surchoix Wheel received a score of 99.625. This World Champion cheese is handmade in traditional copper vats and aged in the Roth cellars under the careful watch of our cellar masters. This washed-rind Alpine-style cheese is aged a minimum of 9 months to create a firm texture and complex flavors of caramel, fruit, and mushroom.

"The United States Championship Cheese Contest, hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, is now the nation’s largest biannual technical cheese, butter and yogurt competition. This year’s contest had 2,414 entries in 117 classes from 31 states."

"Wisconsin cheesemakers have once again demonstrated their exceptional craftsmanship, earning 117 cheese awards, more than the combined total of the subsequent six highest-earning competing counties and states at the 35th biennial World Championship Cheese Contest®," the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin says.

"The esteemed global competition showcasing technical excellence in cheese and butter received 3,302 samples of cheese, yogurt, butter, and other dairy products from 25 countries around the world. Of the awards, Wisconsin took home 36.2% of total cow's milk cheese awards.

"These awards are a testament to the commitment and passion of our cheesemakers, and these accolades are well-deserved," says Chad Vincent CEO, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. "Wisconsin's cheesemakers are dedicated to upholding the state's rich cheesemaking tradition and delivering exceptional award-winning products to consumers worldwide."

"Organized and hosted biennially by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) since 1981, the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest is the largest technical cheese, butter, cultured product, and dry dairy ingredient competition in the nation.

"In 2025, the contest featured 2,414 entries from 31 states among the 117 classes of products," the Dairy Foods Magazine says.

"With an impressive 55 Best of Class finishes, cheesemakers from Wisconsin earned the highest number of gold medals. Second in that ranking is Vermont, earning 13 first-place medals. Idaho cheesemakers earned third place, taking home the gold in ten classes, according to the WCMA."