A Review of Wisconsin’s
Dairy Industry
2015 Dairy Data
2015
Wisconsin Dairy Statistics
The average
Wisconsin dairy
cow generates
more than
$34,000 a year
in economic
activity.
Source: WASS; UW
Dept. of Agriculture
and Applied Economics
Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry
• Number of licensed Wisconsin dairy farms
10,290 dairy farms
• Number of Wisconsin dairy cows
1,271,000 dairy cows
• Average milk production per cow per year in Wisconsin
• Total Wisconsin milk production
21,869 lbs. / 2,543 gal.
27,795,000,000 lbs. / 3,232,000,000 gal.
• Wisconsin milk production (percentage of the U.S. total)
• Average number of cows per farm in Wisconsin
• Total Wisconsin cheese production
• Wisconsin cheese production (percentage of the U.S. total)
2,891,422,000 lbs.
25.4%
• Total Wisconsin specialty cheese production (2013)
640,188,000 lbs.
• Total Wisconsin Cheddar cheese production
564,653,000 lbs.
• Total Wisconsin other American cheese production
275,986,000 lbs.
• Total Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese production
980,933,000 lbs.
• Total Wisconsin other Italian cheese production
469,419,000 lbs.
• Total Wisconsin Dry Whey (for human consumption) production
280,339,000 lbs.
• Number of cheese plants in Wisconsin
138 plants
• Number of butter plants in Wisconsin
13 plants
• Number of yogurt plants in Wisconsin
15 plants
• Total Wisconsin plants manufacturing one or more dairy products (2012)
2
13.5%
124 dairy cows
All statistics are from 2014 data unless noted otherwise.
Source: Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service (WASS); USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS);
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (WDATCP)
203 plants
Wisconsin’s Dairy Heritage
• 1830s
Wisconsin farm wives begin making cheese.
• 1858
John J. Smith obtains state’s first cheese vat; becomes first to sell beyond state’s borders.
• 1877
Brick Cheese is first made by Wisconsin cheesemaker John Jossi.
• 1885
Colby Cheese is invented in Colby, Wisconsin, by Joseph Steinwand.
• 1890
UW Professor Stephen Babcock develops method for placing value on milk quality.
• 1890
First dairy school in America established at UW-Madison.
• 1910
Wisconsin becomes nation’s leader in cheese production.
• 1915
• 1921
Wisconsin becomes leading dairy state, producing more milk than any other.
Wisconsin becomes the first state to establish cheese grading standards.
• 1940
Wisconsin adds “America’s Dairyland” to auto license plates.
• 1972
Wisconsin Cheese production exceeds one billion pounds.
• 1986
The Center for Dairy Research at UW-Madison is established.
• 1992
Wisconsin Cheese production exceeds two billion pounds.
• 1994
The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® program, unique in the Western Hemisphere, established.
• 1994
Wisconsin Specialty Cheese Institute is formed to promote specialty cheese.
• 2010
• 2013
Wisconsin becomes 4th largest cheese-producing region in the world.
Specialty cheese production tops 640 million pounds, accounting for 22% of Wisconsin’s
total cheese production and 46% of total U.S. specialty cheese production.
• 2015
Wisconsin cheesemakers capture 59% of all awards presented at the United States Championship
Cheese Contest, including 38 awards won by Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Commerce; WASS; American Cheese Society; Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA)
As much as 90%
of Wisconsin’s milk
is made into cheese
and 90% of that
famous Wisconsin
Cheese is sold
outside of the
state’s borders.
Source: WMMB, Inc.
3
U.S. Cheese Production
Wisconsin has
led the
United States
in cheesemaking
since 1910.
2014* U.S. Cheese1
Production by States
2014* U.S. Cheese1
Production by Variety
Source: WASS
Wisconsin
25.4%
CA
21.1%
All
Other
States
20.0%
SD 2.4%
PA 3.7%
MN 5.8%
NM
6.8%
ID
NY
6.9% 7.9%
Other
American
11.0%
Other
Italian
9.0%
2014 TOTAL PRODUCTION
11,404,584,000 lbs.
4
Mozzarella
34.5%
Cheddar
28.5%
Hispanic
2.2%
Swiss
All Other 2.6%
5.0%
Cream
Cheese
7.2%
1
*Preliminary; does not add due to rounding.
Excludes Cottage Cheese
Source: USDA/NASS, “Dairy Products”
U.S. Dairy Production
Wisconsin’s Rank in the U.S. Dairy Industry, 20131
PRODUCT
WISCONSIN PRODUCTION
% OF U.S.
RANK AMONG STATES
American Varieties
837,525,000 lbs.
19.0%
1
Cheddar
567,814,000 lbs.
17.8%
1
1,422,200,000 lbs.
30.0%
2
Mozzarella
960,481,000 lbs.
26.0%
2
Provolone
188,661,000 lbs.
52.4%
1
Parmesan
121,729,000 lbs.
38.1%
1
Romano
25,658,000 lbs.
57.0%
1
52,982,000 lbs.
32.5%
1
3,049,000 lbs.
31.8%
N/A
544,000 lbs.
100.0%
1
70,906,000 lbs.
29.4%
2
2,855,681,000 lbs.
25.7%
1
• Processed Cheese
622,401,000 lbs.
51.8%
1
• Dry Whey, Human Food
302,843,000 lbs.
32.8%
1
27,572,000,000 lbs.
13.7%
2
1,271,000 cows
13.8%
2
• Cheese:
Italian Varieties
Muenster
Brick
Limburger
Hispanic
• Total Cheese
2
• Milk
• Milk Cows
1
Preliminary
Excludes Cottage Cheese
2
Source: WASS; USDA/NASS
Wisconsin
cheesemakers
set a new record
for specialty cheese
production in
2013, producing
640 million pounds.
Specialty cheese
production has
more than doubled
in Wisconsin in the
past ten years.
Source: WASS
5
Per Capita Cheese
Wisconsin
cheesemakers
produce more than
600 varieties, types
and styles of cheese,
from cheddar to
big wheel swiss.
Source: WMMB
U.S. Cheese Consumption
by Variety, 2013*
40
40
POUNDS PER CAPITA
33.7 lbs.
35
U.S. Cheese Consumption,
1970-2013*
30
25
25
20
20
15
13.4 lbs.
14.0 lbs.
34 lbs.
35
30
38 lbs.
POUNDS PER CAPITA
33 lbs.
30 lbs.
25 lbs.
18 lbs.
15
11 lbs.
10
10
6.3 lbs.
5
5
0
0
American
6
Italian
All Other
Natural
Cheese
*Preliminary estimate
Source: USDA/ERS, “Dairy Data”
1970
Total
1980
1990
2000
*Preliminary estimate
**Projected
Numbers rounded to the nearest full pound.
Source: USDA/ERS, “Dairy Data”;
FAPRI, “U.S. Baseline Briefing Book”, March 2014
2010
2013*
2023**
World Cheese Production
Wisconsin’s Rank Among the Top Cheese-Producing Countries, 2013
Wisconsin has
1,173 licensed
cheesemakers and
is the only state that
requires a licensed
cheesemaker to
supervise production
of cheese intended
for sale.
10,000
PRODUCTION (million lbs.)
9,000
8,245
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
Source: WDATCP,
January 2015
4,811
4,268
4,000
2,856
3,000
2,552
1,749
2,000
1,614
1,451
1,409
1,229
1,000
0
United States
(excluding Germany
Wisconsin)
France
Wisconsin
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Russian Fed.
Source: USDA/NASS, “Dairy Products Annual Summary”; EuroStat; UN FAOStat Online Database
Egypt
Argentina
7
U.S. Dairy Product Consumption
Cheesemaking is
widespread in
Wisconsin, with at
least one cheese
factory in 45 out of
Wisconsin’s 72
counties. Green and
Lafayette lead the
state with 11
factories each.
Source: WDATCP
8
U.S. Dairy Product Consumption
U.S. Per Capita Sales of Dairy Products
POUNDS OF PRODUCT
REDUCED
WHOLE & LOWFAT NONFAT
MILK
MILK
MILK
YEAR
FLAVORED
CHEESE
MILK
ICE
CREAM
CREAM PRODUCTS
BUTTER
ALL DAIRY
COTTAGE
CHEESE YOGURT PRODUCTS1
• 2003r
61.5
81.2
26.8
14.4
30.3
21.6
11.4
4.5
2.7
8.6
597
• 2004r
59.4
80.6
26.6
14.7
31.0
20.1
12.1
4.5
2.7
9.2
596
• 2005
56.7
80.8
27.0
14.6
31.4
20.1
12.4
4.5
2.7
10.3
605
r
• 2006
55.1
81.3
27.2
14.9
32.2
20.5
12.5
4.7
2.6
11.1
613
• 2007r
52.2
82.0
27.2
14.5
32.8
20.0
12.8
4.7
2.6
11.5
614
• 2008
50.3
85.2
27.1
14.2
32.2
19.5
12.3
5.0
2.3
11.7
608
r
• 2009
48.9
86.0
26.8
14.2
32.3
19.3
12.2
5.0
2.4
12.5
609
• 2010r
46.3
86.0
26.3
15.2
32.8
19.6
12.4
4.9
2.3
13.5
604
• 2011
45.0
83.2
25.2
14.7
33.1
18.8
12.2
5.4
2.3
13.7
604
• 2012
44.6
82.0
25.2
14.8
33.3
19.4
11.1
5.5
2.3
14.1
614
• 2013
44.1
81.6
23.0
13.9
33.5
18.7
10.8
5.5
2.1
14.9
607
r
r
r
r
P
rRevised
Wisconsin’s dairy
industry contributes
$43.4 billion a
year to the state’s
economy.
Source: UW Dept. of
Agriculture and Applied
Economics
Source: USDA/ERS, “Dairy Data”
PPreliminary
1Pounds
of milk equivalent, milkfat basis
9
Milk Contributions/Conversions
Milk is the
wise beverage
choice. It beats
soft drinks on
every major
nutrient content
measurement.
Milk’s Contribution to
U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs)
FAT FREE MILK
ONE 8 OZ.
SERVING
(80 CALORIES)
NUTRIENT
% OF DAILY VALUE*
• Calcium
30%
0%
• Vitamin D
25%
0%
• Protein
16%
0%
• Potassium
11%
0%
• Vitamin A
10%
0%
• Vitamin B12
13%
0%
• Riboflavin
24%
0%
• Niacin
10%
0%
• Phosphorus
20%
3%
*Based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Source: National Dairy Council / MilkPEP
10
SOFT DRINK
ONE 12 OZ.
SERVING
(100 CALORIES)
Milk
Conversion
Factors
• One quart of milk weighs 2.15 lbs.
• One gallon of milk weighs 8.6 lbs.
• 46.5 quarts of milk equals 100 lbs.
TO MAKE
ONE POUND OF:
REQUIRES:
Butter
21.8 lbs. whole milk
Whole Milk Cheese
Ice Cream (1 gal.)
Cottage Cheese
Plain Yogurt
9.8 lbs. whole milk
12.0 lbs. whole milk
7.3 lbs. skim milk
1 lb. whole milk
The quantity of milk used to produce one pound of
each product depends primarily upon milkfat
content of the milk. Therefore, this table is only
an approximation.
Source: USDA
Contest Results
2014 American Cheese
Society Contest
Wisconsin
36.0%
71 Awards
of 197 Total
2015 United States Championship
Cheese Contest
All Other
States
23.8%
Wisconsin
59.3%
160 Awards
of 270 Total
CA
11.7%
OR
5.1%
Canada
8.1%
Percent of 2014 Winners1
1
Includes only cow’s milk or mixed-milk cheese winners
Source: American Cheese Society
Source: WCMA
CA
5.9%
ID
3.0%
OR
2.2%
OH
2.2%
VT
10.7%
WA
4.6%
All Other
States
13.3% NY
7.4%
VT
6.7%
Wisconsin
cheesemakers
swept 31 out of 89
classes at the 2015
United States
Championship
Cheese Contest,
taking the top three
prizes in each class.
Percent of 2015 Winners1
1
Winners shown for all classes
Source: Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA)
11
Wisconsin Dairy Utilization
Wisconsin
produced 13% of
all milk and 25%
of all cheese in the
United States
in 2014.
Source: USDA/NASS
Total Dairy Utilization on the Rise
Steady growth in cheese consumption has
led to an increase of 19.2% in total dairy
utilization — despite declining milk consumption.
Cheese Leads U.S. Growth in Dairy Utilization
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
Cheese:
+29.2%
Outdo Ordinary®
Milk & Cream:
-3.1%
TEN YEAR TREND
8418 Excelsior Drive
Madison, WI 53717
www.EatWisconsinCheese.com
SOURCE: USDA/NASS, Dairy Products Annual Summary
12
© 2014 Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.
9750