Celebrate dairy industry as a cornerstone of rural Wisconsin

It is hard to understate the impact of the dairy industry on Wisconsin, particularly here in the more rural portions of the state.

Wisconsin’s 5,617 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.

The multi-billion dollar impact of the dairy industry in Wisconsin is an economic driver which provides foundational opportunities for communities to grow wealth and, through reinvestment, prosperity to a wide range of businesses.

Communities are a lot like the large shopping centers that can be found in most cities. In these centers there are a handful of large stores which serve as anchors. It may be a large national retailer or a regional grocery store, but it is something that has a broad appeal and brings in customers. Between those anchor stores are dozens of smaller shops that offer a variety of goods and services from hair stylists to accountants and everything in between.

This is a lot like how communities operate. There are anchor businesses, such as the dairy industry, which provide large scale employment. There are other businesses that serve as suppliers and subcontractors for the anchor business, meeting their needs and helping them grow.

The anchor businesses in turn provide wages and benefits to the people who work there. With the economic multiplier effect, this money circulates and grows throughout the local economy in an expanding web of transactions and services rendered. At the same time, the goods and services produced by the business bring in revenue for the investors and owners who took the risk to make it happen.

One only needs to travel to a distressed area to see what happens to a shopping center that has lost its anchor. Other stores close as foot traffic declines until it is left as a husk of what it once was. It can take years to recover.

America is littered with ghost towns. Each was a oncebustling community filled with hope and industry, but which through some choice or happenstance lost its anchor and faded to be no more than a place name on a map.

The health of rural communities across Wisconsin is tied to the health of the dairy industry. Without the input of revenue to local economies from anchors, such as the dairy industry, communities will wither and fade away.

This month take the time to thank farmers for the work they do, not only in keeping their farms going and growing, but in the work they do to serve as anchors in their community, allowing countless others to work, prosper and chase their dreams.