June is dairy month and while that is a small piece of the greater world, to us it’s our total world.
Dairy farming is all I’ve ever known. I enjoy working with animals. I am passionate about conservation. I like that with farming I get to see things from start to finish. I am there to see a calf be born, watch her grow into a cow and provide milk and then ultimately provide beef. I see the seeds planted, the plants grow and then harvest. Between hunting, fishing, growing veggies and farming I feel very connected to the land and the generations that came before me.
With only 2% of the average population involved in agriculture, it’s easy to forget just how impactful farms like ours are in Wisconsin and in the nation. So in honor of June Dairy Month, I thought I would share some facts with you.
- The dairy industry in Wisconsin contributes 45.6 billion dollars to Wisconsin’s economy. That’s more than Idaho potatoes and Florida’s citrus combined AND doubled.
- There are 6,804 dairy farms in Wisconsin.
- We make over 600 types of cheese in Wisconsin and 26% of our country’s cheese production comes from Wisconsin.
- If Wisconsin was a country it would be the 4th largest cheese producing country in the world.
- In 2020 Wisconsin exported over 3.3 billion dollars in goods to 145 countries.
- 154,000 jobs in Wisconsin exist because of our dairy farms.
- Wisconsin is home to over 1.2 million dairy cows and each of those cows produce an average of 8 gallons of milk per day.
