During the 2018 State Fair I had the chance to meet “The Cheese Lady.” Her real name is Sarah Kaufmann. She has two studios, one in Ohio and one in California, and she travels back and forth between both homes. Sarah is one of three professional cheese sculptors in the United States. She grew up in Wisconsin and was surrounded by dairy cows and cheese factories, so she said her job comes natural to her. Sarah worked for the Wisconsin Dairy Industry for 16 years. She was the Creative Director for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Sarah holds a Guinness World Record from 2011 for carving the largest cheese sculpture of 925 pounds (she has since made larger sculptures).
During my visit with Sarah, I had the chance to see how she sculpts her cheese statues. She even allowed me to try it myself! The sculpture she did at the 2018 State Fair was of the Mackinac Bridge and cows and represented the importance of the dairy industry in Michigan. If it was not for the dairy industry and dairy farmers, Sarah’s job would not be possible.
The dairy industry is an important part of Michigan. Michigan is ranked 5th place in milk production in the entire United States. In 2017, Michigan produced 11.2 billion pounds of milk. The average cow in Michigan produces over 3,000 gallons of milk each year.
While I visited “The Cheese Lady,” I also had the chance to visit the Milk Means More booth and talk with Nick. I had a great day and want to thank the Dairy Farmers across the country and Michigan for all of their tireless hard work and determination to make sure we stay healthy!
Nehemiah
Michigan
6th Grade