Growth and Transition in Wisconsin Dairying
Published : Nov 2008
Authors : E. Jesse
Between June 2002 and December 2004, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UW-Madison, and Cooperative Extension, UW-Extension, published an 8-leaflet series with a common title, Rethinking Dairyland. The tone of the leaflets was somber. Between 1985 and 2001, Wisconsin milk cow numbers had fallen from 1.9 million to 1.3 million, a loss of 38,000 cows per year. Quoting from the third leaflet in the series: “Projecting (1985-2001) Wisconsin cow number and yield per cow trends to 2015 shows state milk production at about 16 billion pounds, about 8 billion pounds less than 2001. Cutting the annual cow loss in half, to 19,000 cows per year, would still result in 2015 milk production about 1 billion pounds less than 2001. If cow numbers held steady at the 2001 level, milk production in 2015 would be about 5 billion pounds higher than 2001. Yield increases above trend would not materially alter these projections – reducing the decline in cow numbers is much more important than increasing yield as a means of growing Wisconsin milk production. Stated differently, a continuation of the annual loss in dairy cows that has been experienced since 1985 cannot be offset by even very optimistic gains in milk per cow.” This paper is a brief follow-up to Rethinking Dairyland. In the way of a quick summary, the sobering trend projections of declining Wisconsin milk production did not materialize. Indeed, Wisconsin cow numbers have stabilized, yield gains have accelerated, and, as a result, the state is poised to break the previous annual milk production record of 25 billion pounds that was set 20 years ago. Wisconsin’s dairy sector is in a positive state of growth and transition.

