“Wisconsin and the Agricultural Economy”
(Steve Deller, Professor of Agriculture and Applied Economics. UW-Madison)
Agriculture
is a powerful
economic force
in Wisconsin.
Messages
• Agriculture is a powerful
economic force in Wisconsin.
• Agriculture stimulates economic activity.
• Agriculture provides jobs.
• Wisconsin agriculture is diverse.
• All farms are important to Wisconsin’s
economy.
How important is
agriculture to the
state’s economy?
• Agriculture accounts for $51.5 billion in
economic activity.
• Agriculture provides jobs for 419,556
Wisconsin citizens.
• Agriculture contributes $16.8 billion to the
state’s total income.
Agriculture stimulates
economic activity
• Wisconsin agriculture generates
more than $51.5 billion in economic
activity.
– Includes the direct effect of agricultural production
and value added processing. It also includes the way
this activity circulates in the economy.
• Every new dollar of sales of ag products
generates an additional $.80 of economic activity
in other parts of the Wisconsin economy.
$51.5 billion
economic impact
• Direct effect of agriculture is $28.6 billion.
– Includes the sale of all farm products and value-added products.
• Indirect effect creates another $17.6 billion in economic activity.
– Includes business-to-business purchases such as fuel, fertilizer, feed, farm
equipment, veterinary services and crop consultants, to name a few.
• Induced effect then generates another $5.3 billion in activity.
– Includes spending by workers in agriculture-related businesses and profits
those businesses earn.
Agriculture
provides jobs
• Wisconsin agriculture provides
419,556 of those jobs.
• That’s 12.2 percent of the workforce.
• Every new job in agriculture creates an additional
1.3 jobs in Wisconsin.
Agriculture
provides jobs
Jobs that exist because of agriculture in Wisconsin
Agriculture (production)
178,528
Manufacturing
88,498
Services
57,294
Wholesale and retail trade
54,606
Finance, insurance, real estate
15,894
Transportation, communication, utilities
15,516
Construction
7,226
Government
1,994
Total
419,556
Percent of Wisconsin Total
12.2%
Agriculture contributes
to state income
• Agriculture contributes $16.8 billion or about 10%
of Wisconsin total income.
– Includes wages, salaries and benefits and profits of
farmers, value added processing and ag related
businesses.
• For every new dollar of agricultural income, an
additional $1.78 of state income is generated.
Agriculture pays taxes
• Economic activity associated with Wisconsin
agriculture generates more than $1.76 billion in
local and state taxes.
– Does not include all property taxes paid to support
local schools.
Agriculture pays taxes
Taxes paid by agriculture
Corporate Profit Tax
$ 82 million
Fees/Charges/Other
$269 million
Income Tax
$362 million
Sales Tax
$473 million
Property Tax
$574 million
Total
$1.76 billion
Dairy’s impact in
Wisconsin
• Dairy is the largest part of Wisconsin
agriculture.
• Wisconsin milk production and the dairy industry
contribute more than $20.6 billion to the state economy.
– The production and sale of milk accounts for $4.1 billion in
activity.
– Processing of milk into dairy products accounts for another
$16.5 billion.
Dairy’s impact in
Wisconsin
• One dairy cow generates $2,000 to $2,500 direct
income to producers.
• One dairy cow generates between $15,000 and
$17,000 of economic activity.
• There are about 200 plants that manufacture one or more dairy
products.
• Wisconsin’s on-farm milk production and dairy processing
accounts for about 160,000 jobs, or 4.6 percent of the state’s
workforce.
– On-farm milk production and businesses that directly support milk
production creates 82,581 jobs.
– Dairy processing creates another 90,462 jobs.
Horticulture is growing
in Wisconsin
• The production of trees and plants for
landscaping and agricultural
production is a rapidly growing
segment of Wisconsin’s agricultural industry.
• Greenhouses, tree farms, nurseries, and sod farms and
other horticultural businesses add to the diversity of
agriculture in the state.
• Horticulture generates $1.1 billion in state economic
activity, providing 22,802 jobs.
Wisconsin agriculture
is diverse
• Wisconsin is one of the top ten
agricultural states in the nation, and it leads in the
production of many commodities and products.
Wisconsin agriculture
is diverse
FIRST
• Cheese
• Snap beans
• Corn for silage
• Cranberries
• Ginseng
• Mink pelts
SECOND
• Milk
• Milk cows
• Butter
• Carrots
THIRD
• Potatoes
• Sweet corn for processing
• Green peas for processing
FOURTH
• Tart cherries
• Maple syrup
FIFTH
• Mint for oil
• Cucumber for pickles
Wisconsin agriculture
is diverse
Wisconsin’s top commodities
(Sales by dollar value, 2002)
1. Milk
2. Cattle & calves
$2.66 billion
$745 million
3. Corn
4. Soybeans
$565 million
$212 million
5. Potatoes
$199 million
6. Greenhouse & Nursery
$146 million
7. Cranberries
$103 million
8. Hogs
$93 million
9. Eggs
$49 million
10. Broilers
$43 million
Agriculture and the
environment
• Wisconsin farmers own and manage the
resources on 16 million acres of land, 44
percent of all land in the state.
• Consider these steps farmers take in protecting the environment:
– Wisconsin farmers have enrolled more than 635,000 acres of their land in
the Conservation Reserve Program to protect the environment and provide
habitat for wildlife.
– More than 36,000 acres are enrolled in the Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program.
– Wisconsin farmers save 9 million tons of topsoil annually, through crop
rotation, terraces and buffer strips, significantly protecting lakes and
streams.
Who owns the farms
in Wisconsin
Individuals & families 89%
Family partnerships 6.9%
Family corporations 3.6%
Non-family corporations .4%
Research partners
UW-Madison College of Agricultural and
Life Sciences
University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
Wisconsin Ag in the Classroom
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection