World Dairy Expo

In the middle of Madison, a small "country" city all it's own has grown and will live at the Alliant Energy Center for the next few days.  Of course, I'm talking about World Dairy Expo (WDE).

This premiere dairy industry trade show has a long and rich history in Madison.  The first WDE was held in 1967 at the new coliseum, a state-of the-art exposition center at the time it was built.  Today, WDE has grown and prospered to include more than 810 companies from 28 countries, 43 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces. The Dairy Cattle Show continues to attract elite show cattle fans from around the globe. A record 2,587 head of dairy cattle were exhibited by 1,130 exhibitors. They converged to the show site from 37 states and seven Canadian Provinces to vie for the coveted Grand Champion and Supreme Champion titles.

It may seem odd that Madison would be the host of such an agricultural-based event, but considering Wisconsin is the dairy state and Madison is it's capital, it makes perfect sense.  And in a time when the population is becoming more and more removed from the farm, it's a wonderful tradition to have such a prestigious event grace our city.

I hope to get the World Dairy Expo in the coming days.  I have found it's a wonderful experience and great exposure to an industry with roots that run deep in all of us, no matter how far removed we may be from the farm!