While Wisconsin is known as the dairy state, our local area has an extra claim to fame. Majestic Crossing Dairy is located in Sheboygan County and our county is a major hub for all things cheese. In honor of Dairy Month, here are a few facts about the county we call home.
Sheboygan County is home to around 100 working dairy farms and some of the largest cheese makers and cheese companies in the world. Sartori Cheese which is where our milk goes, along with Gibbsville Cheese, make some really fantastic cheese just miles from our farm. Meanwhile Sargento, Masters Gallery, Great Lakes Cheese, and Artisan Cheese Exchange further process, store or transport around 15% of all of the cheese produced in the country.
Plymouth, Wisconsin has the title of Cheese Capitol of the World. As I mentioned a large percentage of the cheese made in the US spends time in Plymouth. Not only do we have companies that process cheese into blocks, slices, and shreds, but there are also millions of cubic feet of cold storage located in the area. If you’ve ever driven along on Hwy 57 near Plymouth you’ve likely seen the huge refrigerated warehouses that store millions of pounds of cheese.
Cheese being stored in cold storage.
They say that here in Wisconsin the dairy industry can claim $45.6 billion of economic impact. While I don’t know what percent of that total dollar amount flows through Sheboygan County, it’s certainly not a small amount. So while we celebrate June Dairy Month here on our farm, we know that our drop in the milk bucket is just a small part of the deep dairy roots of our local area. For more facts about the dairy industry here in Wisconsin, check out this post from June of 2021.