08/ 15/ 05 Dairy Does What? The Economic Impact of the Dairy Industry on the State of Wisconsin

The Economic Impact of the Dairy Industry on the State of Wisconsin

• Wisconsin relies on the dairy industry because of its significant contribution to the vitality of the state.
The dairy industry contributes $20.6 billion of dairy revenue annually, which translates into dollars reinvested into the community. Wisconsin dairies help to fuel our economy at the rate of more than $39,000 per minute.

• Dairy contributes more to Wisconsin’s state economy than citrus does to Florida or potatoes to Idaho.
Wisconsin’s dairy industry contributes $20.6 billion annually to the state’s economy, while Florida’s citrus industry has an economic impact of only $9 billion and the Idaho potato industry contributes only $2.5 billion.

• Agriculture is Wisconsin’s signature industry and has been for years.
For more than 160 years, agriculture has driven the state's economy. It remains one of the state’s largest industries, employing one of every eight people.

• Dairy is the largest segment of Wisconsin Agriculture.
The dairy industry accounts for nearly 40% of all Wisconsin agriculture jobs, employing 160,000 laborers or approximately 4.6% of the people in the state of Wisconsin.

• The dairy industry is linked directly and indirectly to many businesses in Wisconsin, providing jobs and additional revenue for the state.
Nearly every sector of Wisconsin’s economy is linked to dairy. For example, dairy fuels the state’s construction industry with 2,604 jobs, services with 20,255 jobs, manufacturing with 21,241 jobs and trade with over 21,641 jobs.

• Wisconsin accounts for more than 1/5 of the nation’s total dairy exports.
Wisconsin’s dairy exports amount to $224 million annually and account for 22% of the nation’s total.

• Wisconsin’s dairy industry contributes significantly to tax revenues at the federal, state and local levels.
On-farm dairying creates $241 million in federal tax revenues, while all of dairying generates in excess of $1.7 billion in taxes each year.

• The average Wisconsin dairy cow generates more than $17,000 a year in economic activity.
These dollars circulate throughout the local community, helping to support schools, roads and local businesses.

• Some of the biggest dairy-related businesses and organizations are headquartered in Wisconsin.
These profit centers for Wisconsin include Foremost Farms USA, ABS Global and Holland Manufacturing.

• The direct contribution of dairying to Wisconsin – through dairy farming and dairy product manufacturing – is only part of the picture.
The dairy industry also uses machinery, trucks, fuel, financial services and other goods and services from local industries, which generate additional jobs and income in non-dairy industries.

• Wisconsin is home to 202 dairy plants – including 116 plants that manufacture Wisconsin cheese.

• Wisconsin’s 116 cheese plants produce more than 2.2 billion pounds of cheese every year – almost 30% more than the second highest producing state, California.

• 90% of Wisconsin cheese is sold outside of the state’s borders.

• Wisconsin cheese is in high demand as per capita cheese consumption increases. Americans now eat more than 31 pounds of cheese per person every year, twice as much as they did in 1975.

• During the past four years, Wisconsin dairy companies have invested more than $200 million to build new cheese plants and expand current facilities.

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