"Colby Cheese Days", to promote the cheese since 1965. That same year Lawrence Hoernke built a new Colby Cheese Factory on the site of the Steinwands' original factory; it produced about of Colby a day until it shut down in 1983. There have been several proposals to make Colby the official state cheese of Wisconsin and to add the designation to the Wisconsin Blue Book published by the state government. In 1998, the city of Colby adopted a resolution supporting the measure and the Wisconsin State Assembly voted 81–15 in support, but the bill was not voted on by the Senate. A similar measure was introduced in 2019 but did not receive a vote in either the Assembly or the Senate. In 2021, the bill was introduced again in an Assembly committee by state representative Donna Rozar and state senator Kathy Bernier, with Joseph Steinwand's great-granddaughter speaking in support of the measure. Supporters of the bill said that it commemorates Wisconsin's dairy history, while critics argued that a special designation for Colby could undermine the sales of other cheeses, including cheddar and mozzarella, that are also produced in the state. Production The manufacturing process for Colby is similar to that of cheddar cheese, except that the mixture does not go through the cheddaring process. Cow's milk that has been standardized to a protein–fat ratio of 0.96 undergoes pasteurization and is stored at while the starter Lactococcus lactis (subspecies lactis and/or cremoris) is added. After an hour, of annatto, a coloring agent, and of diluted rennet are added per of milk. The mixture is left to set for 15 to 30 minutes. The curd is then cut and cooked at until the pH of the whey is about 6.2 to 6.3. Next, instead of draining all of the whey and cheddaring the remaining curds, only about two-thirds of the whey is drained until the curds break the surface. Cold water is added until the temperature of the mixture is about ; increasing this temperature slightly will produce a cheese that is less moist. After washing with the cold water for 15 minutes, the mixture is fully drained and salt is added to the curd. The curd is placed into molds that press it at for 16 to 18 hours. It is then packaged and ripened for 2 to 3 months at . This process produces of cheese per of milk. Monterey