Your guide to the 2025 World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI

World Dairy Expo in Madison is a special event for Wisconsin dairy families

Image 3: The theme of World Dairy Expo 2025 is “The Road to Madison.” Do not miss your chance to be at the gathering place of the global dairy industry September 30 – October 3, 2025.

By USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

September 3, 2025

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Well, it certainly is for the Wisconsin dairy industry. While this may not seem like the time for Andy Williams’ holiday tunes just yet, Wisconsin dairy farmers, dairy businesses, international guests, and cattle enthusiasts surely have something to sing about. The first week in October brings perhaps the most exciting event for dairy lovers like myself – World Dairy Expo.

World Dairy Expo has been held annually in Madison, Wisconsin, for 59 years now. It is known today as the premier gathering place for dairy producers, researchers, agribusiness leaders, and cattle showmen of all ages and involvements. With nearly 75,000 attendees from over 100 countries, more than 2,300 head of cattle shown on the colored shavings, over 500 trade show exhibitors, and countless stories to recall, “Expo” serves as the dairy industry’s biggest family reunion and largest business conference all rolled into one. But the event began with much more modest roots.

To encourage attendance to its annual meeting, the show was broadened in 1949 to include national competitions for horses, poultry, waterfowl, and rabbits.

43rd Alice in Dairyland Kim Nettesheim with Enns Banner Olivia, the 1990 World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion. Alice has played a historical role in World Dairy Expo by delivering the results of the Supreme Champion every year.

According to World Dairy Expo archives, the Dairy Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa started in 1910 and was successful in bringing the dairy industry together. To encourage attendance to its annual meeting, the show was broadened in 1949 to include national competitions for horses, poultry, waterfowl, and rabbits. In the early to mid-1960s, as the logistics of getting cattle to Waterloo became more challenging and the show focus shifted away from dairy, cattle exhibitors met to plan how they could continue having a “major, national dairy show,” even if it was no longer in Waterloo.

In 1965, a coalition of cattle breeders and industry partners began to plan a new show. Four revered ringleaders within the industry deserve much of the credit, including Allen Hetts, Gene Nelson, Howard Voegeli, and Norm Magnussen, Sr. Their goal was ambitious: they wanted to create not just another cattle show, but a world-class event that would draw international attention to Wisconsin’s dairy sector.

The group secured Madison’s Dane County Memorial Coliseum and surrounding fairgrounds as a venue, recognizing its central location and strong agricultural base in America’s Dairyland. The first Expo took place over ten days in 1967, featuring food and youth forums, World Economics Day, and the World Olympics of Dairy Cattle with the world’s largest dairy trophy, just to name a few highlights. Cattle herds descended upon Madison in droves, with some even arriving by rail or flown into the airport, totaling nearly 1,500 entries. The first Expo was an immediate success.

In 1971, recognizing the need for a trade show, businesses and organizations came together to overcome financial challenges and keep the show alive. Over the next decade, dairy producers from Canada and Europe were traveling to Wisconsin to attend Expo. The annual theme, which people have grown to cherish, gives each year a distinctive identity while reinforcing the global vision of the event.

The cattle show grew in prestige as well. Winning a class or champion banner at Expo quickly became one of the highest honors in the dairy world, dramatically raising the value of an animal’s genetics and allowing breeding programs to have a global influence. The rise of artificial insemination and embryo transfer in the 1980s meant that dairy cattle shown in Madison became some of the most sought-after animals in the world.

By the 1990s, World Dairy Expo was firmly established as the leading dairy event in the world. Attendance often topped 70,000 visitors from over 90 countries, and the exhibition space filled with hundreds of companies showcasing equipment, nutrition, and technology. Expo also embraced its role as an educational hub. Seminars, workshops, and youth contests have become part of the tradition, offering opportunities for the next generation of dairy leaders to learn and compete. Events like the Dairy Cattle Judging Contest and the Youth Fitting Contest inspire students to pursue agricultural careers and find their voice in dairy.

Every year, the magic of Expo inspires the next generation of showmen as they compete on the dairy world’s largest stage.

The Purple Cow Gift Shop is a must-stop destination at World Dairy Expo for all souvenir gifts, clothing, and memorabilia.

Throughout my life, Expo has held very special meaning for my family and me. My father has been a volunteer in the show ring for over 35 years, directing the most beautiful bovines in both the International Brown Swiss and International Holstein Shows as a ring man. My mother volunteers in the iconic Purple Cow Gift Shop, where attendees can find their genuine World Dairy Expo clothing, memorabilia, and souvenirs each year. And in 2016, I had the chance to walk the colored shavings for the first time with my heifer Sassy, and never looked back. This was a pivotal moment in my dairy cattle project that ignited an annual pursuit of the road to Madison. Every year, the magic of Expo inspires the next generation of showmen as they compete on the dairy world’s largest stage.

From its modest beginnings in the 1960s to its current role as the most prestigious dairy event in the world, World Dairy Expo has catapulted beyond the visions of its founders. It is a time for America’s Dairyland to showcase world-class cattle, a marketplace for innovation, an educational hub, and a cultural tradition. I encourage all agriculture enthusiasts to attend World Dairy Expo, happening September 30 – October 3 this year in Madison, to see where the local and global dairy community comes together to celebrate the past, embrace the present, and shape the future of dairying.