Wisconsin is America’s Dairyland. It has more dairy farms than any other state. It even says so on the license plates.
Milk is the official state beverage (sorry, beer drinkers). It’s where each year, there’s a new Alice in Dairyland. And it’s where football fans proudly cheer their team while donning rubber wedges of orange cheese on their heads.
But when you travel to Wisconsin and hit the back roads in search of Dairyland, what do you find?
Curving and sometimes hilly roads through green pastures help you understand the true meaning of bucolic. Mooing cows stand ready for their close-ups. Roadside cheese shops (such as the century-old Henning’s, 20201 Point Creek Road, Kiel; 920-894-3032; henningscheese.com) hawk curds so fresh they squeak. There are farms that offer tours and pizza nights, and a museum (the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center, 7001 Gass Lake Road, Manitowoc; 920-726-6000; farmwisconsin.org) where you might get to see a calf being born. And there are places to eat that turn all the local bounty into remarkable meals.
In the tiny hamlet of Paoli, population 153, you’ll find Seven Acre Dairy Company (6858 Paoli Road, Belleville; 608-416-4023; sevenacredairyco.com), a $1.1 million redevelopment of an 1888 cheese factory. The property includes a high-end boutique hotel, an elegant farm-to-table restaurant with a menu featuring local cows and curds, a cafe and a micro dairy. There’s also an event space and casual outdoor seating along the picturesque Sugar River, once used to keep milk cold but now a place for swimming, kayaking and fishing.
Entrepreneur Nic Mink, who says he and his wife are part of the post-pandemic Great Resignation, opened the development earlier this year. A big part of his motivation was preserving history, which is fitting: He’s a graduate of University of Wisconsin at Madison, with degrees in history and environmental science.
In the mid-1900s, Wisconsin had 60,000 dairy farms and thousands of small dairy factories, meaning everyone was connected in one way or another to dairy, Mink said. Now, with mechanization and other efficiencies, there are just about 6,000 farms and 120 factories. Those farms are still mostly family-run, but the smaller numbers mean fewer people maintain that dairy connection.
“We realized that this building was very symbolic of the golden age of Wisconsin dairy, when this factory here in the middle of the 1950s was … one of the most modern dairy processors and supported the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers,” Mink said.
Mink met my friend and me when we arrived in town for a stay in early June. He’s gregarious and talkative, happy to explain the tiniest detail, and it seems he’s involved in most all of those details. But he’s most passionate when talking about Paoli’s dairy history and highlighted it in one way or another throughout the building, explaining why he began this project.
“The ‘why’ is to celebrate this story of Wisconsin dairy in this particular moment, when everybody was connected to it,” he said, pointing out that where we sat to chat was precisely where farmers involved in the Paoli dairy cooperative were making cheese in 1888. “And here we are in 2023 making ice cream and butter. That’s cool. To me, that’s special.”
Seven Acre’s eight-room hotel is elegant and modern, but traces of the original factory remain, including the concrete floor where you can see indentations from the large cheese molds. At The Kitchen, chef Kyle Kiepert puts on a spread inspired by old-school church cookbooks but forged with the abundance and quality of local dairy, produce and meats. A simple relish tray with parsnips, turnips, pickled asparagus and radishes garnished with fresh herb dressing was a sight to behold, and to eat.
In such a small town, you might think there wouldn’t be enough to do. But you’d be wrong. My friend and I stayed at Seven Acre for two nights and wished we’d had more time.
On our second night, we dined across the street at Paoli Schoolhouse American Bistro (6857 Paoli Road, Belleville; 608-848-6261; schoolhousebistro.com), our second spectacular dinner in town. We ate early, thrilled at the quality of the beef Wellington and a spectacular charcuterie board, so we could finish up in time to head to a musical performance down the street.
An outdoor stage and lawn furniture are set up under trees along Sugar River, surrounded by a taproom and a few cocktail bars serving to-go drinks. As we were leaving the restaurant, I balked at the waiter’s suggestion to get a cocktail in a plastic bag, like a kid’s juice drink.
Out the door, we found ourselves smiling as about two dozen bicyclists cruised across the town bridge, singing along to the outdoor band playing “The Gambler”: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em …”
We made a beeline for the music. And it turned out The Lazy Squirrel’s breakfast gin and tonic, with its citrus flavoring, was too tempting for me to pass up — even in a plastic bag with a straw.
Remarkable local food combined with singing bicyclists, outdoor music and cocktails made for a summer evening to remember. And it was as easy as just walking across the street, which of course, is part of the charm.
“Easy” kind of sums up a road trip in and around Wisconsin’s dairy farms. There’s so much to offer all different types of travelers. Families with kids would love the farm stops. Foodies would find notable meals in tiny towns such as Viroqua and the bigger metropolises of Madison and Milwaukee. There are many ways to arrange a road trip. Here are some stops I made earlier this year that are worth the trip:
Wegmueller Dairy Farm (W4358 Montgomery Road, Monroe; wegmuellerfarm.com) is where fourth-generation farmer Dan Wegmueller and family offer farm tours, farm stays in a spacious and well-stocked authentic farmhouse and activities with horses. I only had two hours to explore this working dairy farm on my June visit. That was enough to milk cows, feed calves and giggle at some baby pigs. It wasn’t enough time for a horse ride on top of all that. Don’t make the same mistake as me.
From Paoli, head west (about two hours) to Viroqua for small-town foodie experiences and a 1960s vibe. Vernon County is famous for its concentration of organic farms and the Driftless Cafe (118 W. Court St., Viroqua; 608-637-7778; driftlesscafe.com) is famous for using all that natural, local goodness. Its macaroni and cheese is to die for.
On Friday nights in summer, head to the Sittin’ Pretty Pizza Farm (S5990 Chamberlain Ridge Lane, Viroqua; sittinprettyfarm.org), where Steve Lawless operates a nonprofit that creates community along with wood-fired pies made with local ingredients.
In the state capital of Madison, there are at least three stops you can’t miss:
The Saturday morning Dane County Farmer’s Market (13 W. Mifflin St., Madison; 608-455-1999; dcfm.org), where artisanal cheesemakers have their award-winning offerings for sale.
The European-style cheese shop Fromagination (12 S. Carroll St., Madison; 608-255-2430; fromagination.com) just across from the Statehouse, where owner Ken Monteleone can tell you about his passion project and the most expensive cheese he’s ever sold: a Wisconsin aged cheddar.
The UW-Madison’s Memorial Union terrace (800 Langdon St., Madison; 608-265-3000; union.wisc.edu) overlooking Lake Mendota. Casual food and drink is available for purchase, including ice cream from the university’s very own Babcock Dairy.
If your travel timing is right, put this on your calendar: Tickets are on sale now for the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s first-ever Art of Cheese festival, set for Sept. 29-Oct. 1, in and around Madison. (artofcheesefestival.com)
Terri Colby is a freelance writer.
