Salute farmers this dairy month
While Madison politicians play partisan games and talk about the good they do for the state, the real engines of economic health are hard at work putting their crops in the fields, making sure their cows are milked and doing their daily chores.
Any building is only as strong as its foundation. When contractors build a new building they dig deep into the soil and use steel-reinforced concrete to create a base that will withstand generations of weather, change and upheaval.
Wisconsin’s 6,550 dairy farms are the foundation upon which all other economic success in the state is built. These farms, the vast majority of which are family owned and operated, power the state’s economic engine and touch the lives of every Wisconsin resident in both the pantry and in their pocketbooks.
June is dairy month in Wisconsin. It is time set aside to recognize the hard work dairy farmers put in day after day and to celebrate their role in keeping the state strong and our rural communities vibrant.
According to state statistics 435,700 people, or just under 12%, of all Wisconsin workers are employed directly in agriculture either through onfarm work or in processing the products grown on Wisconsin’s farms.
However, those numbers only scratch the surface of agriculture’s impact on the state’s economy and the jobs dependent on a strong agricultural economy. Agriculture contributes $104.8 billion annually to the state’s economy with more than $45.6 billion of that economic contribution coming from the dairy industry.
Beyond the direct farm and processing jobs, the economic impact of Wisconsin’s farms supports jobs ranging from mechanics to hairdressers and grocers to bank presidents. Without the money generated and spent by Wisconsin’s farmers, rural communities across the state would wither and fade away. One only needs to look at nearby states where agricultural consolidation has turned oncethriving communities into ghost towns within a generation.
This agricultural consolidation can and is happening here in Wisconsin. The number of licensed dairy herds in Wisconsin has dropped from close to 10,000 four years ago to about 6,500 as of this past winter while the number of cows in the state has remained steady at about 1.27 million animals.
Wisconsin’s farm families face many challenges. Beyond the inherent risks that come from weather and the ebbs and flows of the market cycle, farmers are facing additional challenges by political gamesmanship over such things as managing natural resources and threats of prey animals such as wolves.
Rather than simply mouthing platitudes about the hardworking farmers in the state, politicians and officials at every level of government should be looking at ways to ensure that this generation of family farmers is not the last one, and that farming’s heritage of hard work, that forms the basis of Wisconsin’s famous work ethic, does not fade away.
June is dairy month. It is a time for recognizing farmers and all others who play a role in keeping agriculture strong in Wisconsin.
Members of The Star News editorial board include Publisher Carol O’Leary, General Manager Kris O’Leary and News Editor Brian Wilson.
