Overview of Wisconsin Agriculture AAE 320: Farming Systems Management Dr. Paul D. Mitchell 418 Taylor Hall 265-6514 pdmitchell@wisc.edu

Wisconsin Agriculture Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics 2015 (for 2014) https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Wisconsin/Publications/Annual_Statistical_Bulletin/2015AgStats_web.pdf In Wisconsin, in 2014, there were 69,000 farms 14,500,000 acres in farms Average 210 acres/farm Generated $12.9 billion in cash receipts

WI Farms by Annual Sales 2014 Gross Value of Sales Number of Farms % of Total Average Size (ac) $1,000-$9,999 30,500 44% 66 $10,000-$99,999 21,000 30% 138 $100,000-$249,999 7,400 11% 264 $250,000-$499,999 4,900 7% 418 > $500,000 5,200 8% 1,077 Total for WI 69,000 100% 210

WI Farms by Annual Sales 2014

Number of WI Farms by Annual Gross Sales 2009-2014 Gross Sales ($1,000’s) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 $1 - $10 38,800 38,300 37,500 36,800 31,000 30,500 $10 - $100 20,500 20,900 20,400 20,600 21,200 21,000 $100 - $250 9,400 9,000 9,300 9,200 7,500 7,400 $250 - $500 5,500 5,700 5,900 5,000 4,900 > $500 3,800 4,100 4,300 5,100 5,200 Total 78,000 77,000 76,800 69,800 69,000 > $100 18,700 18,800 19,100 19,400 17,600 17,500 > $250 9,800 10,200 10,100

Average Acres per WI Farm by Annual Gross Sales 2009-2014 Gross Sales ($1,000’s) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 $1 to $10 62 63 61 60 68 66 $10 to $100 156 153 147 146 137 138 $100 to $250 287 278 280 272 267 264 $250 to $500 509 491 473 458 420 418 > $500 1,079 1,049 1,047 1,070 1,078 1,077 Total 195 209 210

What’s Happening? Some sort of method change in 2013, some big jumps The number of farms by gross annual sales is fairly constant, but can see slight trends The number of large revenue farms slowly increasing The number of small and medium revenue farms slowly decreasing Lots of little farms, but the number of WI farmers “making a living” is small (10-15%) Lots of “small” farm households are doing something else to make additional money Average WI farm size fairly constant at about 200 acres

% of Total WI Farm Revenue (Cash Receipts) by Commodity Category 2009-2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Animals 63.4 63.6 64.1 60.5 65.6 73.0 Dairy 43.2 46.0 46.5 43.6 46.1 52.4 Crops 36.6 36.4 35.9 39.5 34.4 27.0 Grains 22.4 25.5 28.3 30.1 24.9 19.4 Vegetables 7.1 4.3 4.1 4.0 4.6 3.5 Fruits 2.7 2.2 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.4

Wisconsin Is A Major Dairy State (2014) WI Rank % US #1 State Milk production 2 13.5 California Cheese, total 1 25.4 Wisconsin American 18.7 Cheddar 17.4 Mozzarella 25.2 Italian 29.4 Dry whey (food) 32.7

Wisconsin’s Place in US Agriculture (2014) Livestock WI Rank % US #1 State Cattle and calves 9 3.9 Texas Milk cows 2 13.7 California Hogs and Pigs 19 0.4 Iowa Sheep 1.5 Milk Goats 1 12.1 Wisconsin Chickens 18 Broilers 0.6 Georgia Mink Pelts 33.7 Trout, sold > 12'' 0.7 Idaho Honey 15 1.6 North Dakota Eggs

Wisconsin’s Place in US Agriculture (2014) Grain/Feed Crops WI Rank % US #1 State Corn for grain 10 3.4 Iowa Corn for silage 1 12.3 Wisconsin Oats 2 12.5 S. Dakota Soybeans 16 2.0 Illinois Wheat, winter 23 1.2 Kansas Barley 19 0.4 Idaho Forage (all types) 10.0 Texas

Wisconsin’s Place in US Agriculture (2014) Vegetable Crops WI Rank % US #1 State Potatoes, all 3 6.1 Idaho Dry edible beans 15 0.7 North Dakota Onions 12 1.1 California Cabbage (fresh) 8 3.2 Sweet Corn (fresh) 14 1.5 Carrots, processing 1 33.2 Wisconsin Sweet Corn, processing 21.1 Minnesota Green Peas, processing 19.5 Washington Snap Beans, processing 45.8

Wisconsin’s Place in US Agriculture (2014) Fruit Crops WI Rank % US #1 State Cherries, tart 4 4.0 Michigan Apples 11 0.5 Washington Strawberries 7 0.1 California Maple syrup 6.2 Vermont Cranberries 1 59.8 Wisconsin Other minor but important crops in Wisconsin Ginseng: Missing from list, WI is #1 Cucumbers for pickling Mint for oil

Nationally Important WI Agriculture Dairy is very important: milk, cheese, whey Milk cows and milk goats Field crops: silage, corn, oats, forage Vegetables: potatoes, processing vegetables (sweet corn, snap beans, green peas, carrots, cucumbers) Fruits: cranberries, cherries, mint, ginseng Main Point: Wisconsin Agriculture is more diverse than in many other “ag” states

Impact of Agriculture on WI Economy

Impact of Agriculture on WI Economy Economic Impacts of Agriculture in Wisconsin Counties (Deller and Williams) Agriculture in WI: 12.5% of total sales in state, 10% of jobs, 9% of income Economic Impact of Specialty Crop Production and Processing in Wisconsin Specialty crops $6.4 billion in WI economy, about $1.1 billion production, $5.3 billion processing, 35,000 jobs (1% WI’s) 2nd largest US processed vegetable industry

Summary Most WI farmers have small farms and earn most of their income off the farm The number of WI farmers “making a living” is small (about 15% or 10,000) Dairy is the most important agricultural production in WI, but WI agriculture is quite diversified, with other important industries Ag generates about 10% of WI’s jobs and 9% of WI’s income