Senate Considers Making Colby Cheese the Official State Cheese

Senate Considers Colby Cheese Bill

(OnFocus) A bill to designate Colby cheese as the state’s official cheese in the Wisconsin Blue Book is now being considered in the Senate.

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 29 before the Committee of Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection.

Colby resident Matthew Oehmichen attended a public hearing last November when the bill was considered by the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, and plans to make the case for the bill once again before the Senate committee.

“I am beyond excited where Colby cheese is progressing,” he said.

A week after the first public hearing, Oehmichen visited with the senators and representatives involved with the bill to share information and answer questions, plus give them a sample of the cheese in question.

[Related: Local Testifies in Support of Making Colby Cheese the Official State Cheese]

The bill faces tougher chances in the Senate, which has been less receptive to the bill than the Assembly, where it was viewed with enthusiasm as a way to highlight the state’s cultural heritage, he said.

“Most offices viewed the measure with apathy, and even annoyance. I was told that the state has too many state symbols to begin with, that this bill doesn’t benefit anyone and it would be a waste of time, and ‘who cares,’” Oehmichen said.

However, it’s the right time of year to get bills passed as the Legislature is starting out fresh.

“Think about New Year’s Resolutions; you are more likely to work out now than you would later in the year. As with this bill, the momentum is high, and the legislature isn’t bogged completely down yet,” he said. “So having a second and last public hearing this early in the year is beyond great.”

For his second testimony, Oehmichen plans to reflect on the history of Colby and its famous cheese.

“This isn’t just about what the cheese is, it is where it was made from: generations of family farms and the rural communities they support,” he said. “The heartbeat of Wisconsin comes from these rural areas and small hometowns, like mine; Colby.”

Colby Cheese as a state symbol would be unique and authentic to Wisconsin, the birthplace of the cheese first developed in 1885.

“The majority of our state symbols are shared by others in the nation. Did you know that our state beverage, milk, is the same for 27 other states, and the American Robin is the state bird for Michigan as well?” Oehmichen said. “If we are going to be have state symbols, then let’s have one that no one else can ever claim and is our very own.”

While the bill has been criticized on social media as a frivolous item for lawmakers, Oehmichen firmly believes in its value. “I believe that people should be able to connect and identify with the state they live in and feel pride,” he said. “That is worth the time. And if this doesn’t really matter, then tell me, what does it hurt to have it?”

As he prepares to provide testimony in favor of the bill, Oehmichen acknowledges that the work is far from over but that the wait would potentially be months, rather than years.

Local Testifies in Support of Making Colby Cheese the Official State Cheese