2/12 – Wisconsin’s 27 billion dollar dairy industry is reported to be bouncing back. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection reports dairy farms are in recovery mode. Exports are helping drive the dairy industry’s growth. Farmers who got through 2009’s bad year for dairy have been rebuilding equity and paying down their debt this past year. Exports are growing as developing nations demand more meat and dairy products for their growing middle-class populations. Wisconsin also lost fewer dairy farms this year. As of the first week in December, Wisconsin had 11 thousand, 786 licensed milk cow herds, down 681 from the same month in 2010. That represents a decline, but a much-smaller decline than previous years when milk prices cratered and farmers had to shut down their operations.
