Wisconsin dream

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large tart cherry crop, producing 10.1 million pounds in 2020. Wisconsin boasts many apple orchards producing 49.0 million pounds of apples in 2018.

At the same time, as logging and agriculture were starting to leave their mark in Wisconsin, the state’s mineral resources were being tapped to help fuel the need for industrial growth throughout the Midwest and beyond. While metallic mining grabs headlines recently, nonmetallic mining has quietly been an important part of the region’s economy for decades.

Northern Wisconsin is a land carved by glaciers and the legacy of that glacial topography has been the bane of farmers who have to spend time each year picking rocks from their fields. Yet it is this rock and gravel which has brought economic wealth to the region along with solid employment for thousands of workers.

There are approximately 2,000 active gravel and sand pits, quarries and mines in the state. The raw materials are used to build roads, bridges, buildings and monuments. Materials and construction are the unsung heros of Wisconsin’s economy contributing significantly, especially in the mineral-rich northern portion of the state.

As with logging, agriculture and mining do not stand alone. Whole industries have sprung up reacting to the specific needs and challenges of these industries. Machine shops serve to keep the equipment operating and to make it run better and safer. People take the raw products of the field, forest and ground and turn them into something new.

A local bar owner takes advantage of the supply of dry ice from a local ice cream manufacturer to load his trunk with frozen pizzas and kick-start a new industry. Another looks at the windows made by a competitor and knows that he can do it better. While others look for new ways to deliver their products and services.

Wisconsin is a land of opportunity and plenty for those willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.