TRAVEL GUIDE

Wisconsin Travel and The Dairy Industry

Dairy has been a staple in our diet throughout history and it continues to be a part of our everyday life. In your Wisconsin travels, you will see many dairy farms spread throughout the state. The dairy industry has always been a vital part of Wisconsin's agriculture and rural economy as milk sales make up majority of gross farm income and dairy farmers manage most of the state's cropland. For your Wisconsin travels, it can be very educational to visit a dairy farm to understand and appreciate the roots of Wisconsin.

The number of dairy farms in Wisconsin has been on constant decline for the century due to the modernization. From 150,000 farms in 1950, it has decreased to only 16,000 in 2004. For the remaining milk farms, they have been gradually increasing in size and their per cow milk productivity. However, as Wisconsin has been losing its dairy cows and dairy farms, other states have been starting new and expanding their existing dairy operations.

The dairy industry brings in over $20 billion and supports 174,000 jobs in Wisconsin, accounting for nearly two-thirds of Wisconsin's number one industry, the agriculture industry. Due to the decrease in dairy farms, Wisconsin farmers could no longer supply the state's cheese and dairy processors with enough milk. This translates to importing 14% of the milk processed in Wisconsin from other states. The ripple effect of the decreasing number of dairy farms leads to closing of dairy-processing plants and job eliminations. Furthermore, other infrastructure jobs that are related to the dairy industry are eradicated as well. The lack of milk production causes difficulties for milk processors to reinvest in modern equipment to stay competitive with other states. This is a vicious cycle that without increases in milk production; Wisconsin's dairy industry will continue to suffer. Since the dairy industry has such a prominent presence in Wisconsin's economy, its repercussion will be felt throughout the state.

There are many reasons that contribute to the change of the dairy industry in Wisconsin. Some of them are related to the old thinking method that leads to fears of expansion and increasing the size of dairy herds could be bad for the farm. There are also concerns for heritage in the belief that dairy farms should look a certain way. In your Wisconsin travels, you will find many dairy farms have similar appearance and for the farmers, they fear that expansion will change the landscape and in essence, changing part of the heritage as well.

Another obstacle was the high costs associated with modernization. Many dairy farm producers could not afford the upgrade but failing to update its equipment will keep them out of being competitive in the market. This catch 22 resulted in many farm families merging together in order to capitalize on efficiencies. In your next Wisconsin travels, you may find the dairy farm structures look different from the past.

To deal with this problem, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Department of Commerce, UW Center for Dairy Profitability, UW Extension and Wisconsin Technical Colleges came together for a joint venture to create Grow Wisconsin Dairy Team. Their mission is to coordinate and focus resources for dairy farmers modernizing their businesses and add value to milk produced in Wisconsin by focusing on new marketing opportunities. By tackling some of the fundamental problems, this group hopes to turn the situation around.

The dairy industry has significant impact on Wisconsin's economy and its people. In your next Wisconsin travels, take the time to go to the rural area to look at the dairy farms to appreciate and understand what it means to the Wisconsin people, the generations before and the future.