The State That Produces The Most Cheese
Per Statista, Wisconsin produced about 3.5 billion pounds of cheese in 2021. This impressive total was over a billion pounds more than the runner-up state, California. Farm Flavor explains that Wisconsin first became the cheese production champions in 1910, and it’s held onto the title ever since. Per the Wisconsin State Farmer, this cheese was processed at one of the state’s 100+ cheese factories.
Additionally, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service found that Wisconsin produced more than 31 billion pounds of milk in 2021. And making that much milk — and subsequently, that much cheese — wouldn’t be possible without a staggering number of dairy cows. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin was home to, on average, 1.27 million milk cows in 2021.
Though recent years have seen a decrease in the overall number of Wisconsin dairy farms, milk production has continued to rise. This can be attributed, in part, to breeding practices focused on making higher-producing livestock. The average Wisconsin dairy cow generated nearly 25,000 pounds of milk, which represents a marked increase from last year’s average.
..