STILL AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND, and headed upmarket.

Wisconsin-made unsalted butter swept the 2006 World Championship Cheese and Butter Contest this past spring. Grassland Dairy Products in Greenwood, which at 102 is considered the nation's oldest and largest privately owned butter-maker, took all three prizes in the unsalted butter category of the world competition. The company's European-style unsalted butter won best of class.

Graf Creamery, another privately owned company in Zachow, consistently wins honors in national and international butter contests and earned top honors at this year's Wisconsin State Fair. Graf is considering adding European-style butter to its product line - a testament to the growing popularity of higher-fat "boutique" butters.

Organic Valley, based in La Farge, makes organic European-style unsalted butter, which that company touts as "the champagne" of butter with 84% butterfat. Outpost Natural Foods stores and several Sendik's and Roundy's Pick 'n Save stores carry Organic Valley butters, including the European-style product.

Extra credit if you know where Zachow and LaFarge are, without consulting a map. Now go have yourself an ear of corn.