By the Numbers: Agriculture in Wisconsin

Workers make cheese curds at Renard’s Rosewood Dairy plant on County S. Photo by Len Villano.

1

While Wisconsin remains America’s Dairyland, it is first in these products:  snap beans for processing; cranberries; ginseng; mink pelts; dry whey for humans; milk goats; corn silage; specialty cheese; and exported bovine semen.

3

Wisconsin’s ranking as a potato-producing state. There were 64,000 acres of potatoes planted in the state in 2016.

5

Wisconsin’s national ranking in the exports of dairy, eggs and honey. In 2017 those exports were valued at $297 million, a 19.9 percent increase compared to 2016.

11.9

The percentage of agriculture jobs in the Wisconsin workforce, or 413,500 jobs.

12

Wisconsin’s overall ranking for agricultural exports.

25

The percentage of the nation’s cheese that is produced in Wisconsin.

64

The percentage of the nation’s cranberries provided by Wisconsin growers, amounting to 6.13 million barrels of cranberries grown on 21,100 acres (a barrel equals 100 pounds).

79

The number of additional cents of industrial sales elsewhere in Wisconsin’s economy for every dollar of agricultural activity.

209

The number of acres of the average Wisconsin farm.

1,200

The number of licensed cheesemakers in the state. They produce more than 600 types of cheese – 3.2 billion pounds of it in 2016.

8,700

The number of dairy farms in the state, more than any other state.

68,500

The number of farms in the state.

153,900

The number of jobs devoted to on-farm production.

259,600

The number of jobs in agricultural processing.

1.28 million

The number of cows in the state.

13.6 million

The number of pounds of Wisconsin’s tart cherry crop in 2016.

14.3 million

The number of acres devoted to farming in Wisconsin.

41 million

The number of pounds of Wisconsin apples produced in 2016.

774 million

The number of pounds of speciality cheese produced in Wisconsin, including but not limited to asiago, gorgonzola, gruyere, aged cheddar, gouda and limburger.

$3.5 billion

The dollar amount of Wisconsin agricultural products exported to 147 countries in 2017, a 3.63 percent increase compared to 2016. Canada ($1.45 billion), Mexico ($412 million), China ($299 million), South Korea ($178 million) and Japan ($146 million) are the top five export markets.

$67.8 billion

Total sales from food processing.

$88.3 billion

The annual contribution the state’s ag industry makes to the Wisconsin economy.

Source:  The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection