When you think of the US dairy industry, Wisconsin is probably the first state that comes to mind.
Known as America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin produces a massive 25% of all the cheese in the US and it boasts 600 varieties! The state is so famous for its dairy that fans of the local Green Bay Packers football team proudly call themselves ‘Cheeseheads’.
To get a closer look at this dairy powerhouse, The Scottish Farmer caught up with Jackie McCarville, a dairy extension educator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jackie works with dairy farms in four south-western counties – Grant, Green, Iowa, and Lafayette – an area about the size of Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway combined. These counties alone are home to around 113,000 dairy cows.
Together, they account for about 10% of Wisconsin’s 1.26m dairy cows spread across the state’s 65,000 square miles – twice the size of Scotland.
While Wisconsin is known for its colossal cheese production, what’s remarkable is that 97% of its farms are multi-generational, family-owned operations. In Jackie’s region, the average herd size is around 200-220 milking cows. There are a few larger farms with 700-1000 cows, but half of all farms have fewer than 100. These smaller farms are often run by a couple, sometimes with help from their children. It’s not uncommon to see farms with around 60 cows, with one partner working off the farm to bring in extra income – often to secure affordable health insurance for the family.
On about half of the dairies, cows are milked in stanchion barns or tied stalls, where milking machines are brought to the cows. These cows spend winter indoors and head out to pasture in the summer. Larger farms with more than 100 cows usually keep their animals in barns all year round, using sand or mats with sawdust for bedding. Outside temperatures can plunge to as low as -20°F (-29°C).
Most milking is done in side-by-side or herringbone parlours, though robotic milking machines are slowly gaining ground. However, retrofitting these robots into existing barns is pricey, often costing over $2m. So far, only 10-15 farms in Jackie’s counties have gone robotic. Popular parlour brands here include Delaval, GEA, and BouMatic. The state’s largest herds, numbering in the thousands, are found in the east, where giant rotary parlours handle the milking.
“We have a big mix of farm sizes here,” Jackie explains. “Larger farms obviously benefit from economies of scale, but smaller farms often have little to no debt, so as long as the facilities are there, they can keep milking.
“The biggest challenge for these smaller farms is the toll that older systems take on people’s knees and hips. Smaller farms might let cows graze in the summer, while larger ones keep them housed year-round. Some cheese plants require cows to be outside part of the year, but it’s not a widespread requirement.”
Wisconsin’s dairy cows are mostly Holsteins, though there are some pockets of other breeds like Brown Swiss in Green County. Most farmers breed their own replacements using AI, with sexed semen becoming more popular. If they don’t need replacements, they use beef genetics to produce cross-bred calves, which can fetch up to $900 (£682) per head as day-old calves. Dairy bulls are slightly less valuable, bringing in $600-$700 (£450-£530) per head.
Since many farms lack fenced fields for grazing, replacement heifers are often raised in heifer sheds or sent off-farm for rearing. It’s common for these young females to be shipped to Colorado shortly after birth for growing, then returned two months before calving. This is the equivalent distance of a Dumfries dairy sending their cattle to Monaco for rearing. Cheaper feed and less competition for land make this option attractive.
These cows are primarily fed a diet of hay and corn silage, grown on the farm. Fields typically yield 8-12 bales of hay per acre, with each bale weighing about 1000lbs (453kg). Corn silage, which is harvested in September, usually yields 20-25t per acre. It’s stored in silos, silage pits, or silage bags. Some grass silage hay is also stored in tube liners.
Fields are typically planted with alfalfa or hay for three to four years before rotating into corn, possibly followed by soybeans, and then back into alfalfa. Crops are established by discing the ground and direct drilling.
Smaller farms might buy feed blends, while larger operations with more than 200 cows often purchase individual ingredients to mix their own rations. Most cows are fed a total mixed ration using mixing wagons from brands like Kuhn, Patz, or Triolet.
A typical TMR includes 40-50lbs (18-22kg) of corn silage, 10-40lbs (10-18kg) of hay or haylage, and 5-12lbs (2.2-5kg) of soy or distillers grains per cow. With soy costing around $355/t (£270/t) and distillers’ grains $170/t (£130), it’s an expensive diet. But Wisconsin’s dairy cows produce an impressive 24,884lbs (11,287 litres) of milk per year, with a butterfat content of 4.02% and protein at 3.19%.
Corn silage usually contains 30-35% starch and about 7.6% protein. Feeds are also supplemented with vitamins A, D, and E, plus selenium and trace minerals. Each cow typically receives 0.75-1.5lbs (300-680g) of these supplements daily, at a cost of $1200/t (£910/t). Good foot health is essential, so copper is added to the diet, and hoof trimmers visit several times a year. Importantly, no medicated feed or antibiotics are added to the regular diet.
Cows are usually vaccinated against blackleg and respiratory issues. When drying off cows, most farmers use a mastitis antibiotic tube or a teat sealant. Unlike the UK, there are no national disease programmes in place, so there’s no need to test for BVD or TB. The only recent requirement is a clear avian flu test for lactating dairy cows being moved between farms.
Recently, milk prices have hovered around $19 per hundred weight (33ppl), but they’ve seen highs of $27.40 per hundred weight (48ppl) in 2022 and lows of $16.50 (29ppl) in 2018. Most milk is sold through contracts with cheese processors, which can set limits on milk quantities if they’re receiving too much. Jackie notes that finding a new market for milk has been a challenge for those looking to start or switch dairies.
Wisconsin’s success in dairy farming can be attributed to a combination of ideal land, climate, and strong family farms. When asked why the state excels, Jackie says: “Wisconsin is well-suited for dairy farming because we have great weather for growing crops and easy access to local cheese plants to purchase milk.”
But like in the UK, there are challenges ahead. Milk prices, finding labour, land costs, and expensive equipment are all on the minds of Wisconsin farmers. Despite this, the future looks bright, with the core elements for success firmly in place. Jackie is confident that while robotic milking will likely increase as labour becomes scarcer, the family farm will remain a cornerstone of Wisconsin’s dairy industry.
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