(ABC 6 News) – Rochester-area cheesemakers are gearing up to compete in the 2024 World Championship Cheese Contest.

Dairy Farmers of America in Zumbrota, and Minnesota and Prairie Farms Dairy Incorporated in Faribault and Rochester will be against dairy processors from 31 other states and 25 countries.

Local entrants are getting excited to see how their cheese stacks up against the more than 3,000 entrants.

“We taste all these things that we are going to send off to the competition, and we kind of act as if we are judging our own cheese, right? So, we talk about the color, the smell, the taste,” said Tara Schaal, affinage manager for Our Caves of Faribault.

The contest runs from March 5 to 7 in Madison, Wis.