Wisconsin's real MVPs. (Photo by Seth William Page | CC BY-ND 2.0)

June is Dairy Month, and Wisconsin is America’s Dairyland. Here are some amazing facts about Wisconsin’s dairy industry that you should know:

1. WE’RE (STILL) NO. 1!

It’s true that some other state (cough cough California cough cough) has more dairy cows – and produces more milk – than Wisconsin. But the Dairy State remains No. 1 by other milky metrics: For instance, Wisconsin has more dairy herds (7,168) than any other state. Wisconsin’s herd sizes tend to be smaller (an average of 176 dairy cows, vs. 1,373 in California), and 95% of our dairy farms are family-owned.

2. THE CHEESE STANDS ALONE

The vast majority of the milk produced by Wisconsin cows goes toward cheese, which unsurprisingly makes Wisconsin the No. 1 cheese state in the union. Wisconsin produces 3.42 billion pounds of cheese annually, more than one-quarter of the entire U.S. production. If Wisconsin were a country, it would be the fourth-largest cheese producer in the world!

3. BIG BUSINESS

All that literal cheese (and other dairy products) adds up to a lot of metaphorical cheese: According to the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the state’s dairy industry generates $45.6 billion in economic activity annually. That’s more than the impact of Idaho potatoes and Florida citrus combined.

4. SOMETHING SPECIAL FROM WISCONSIN

While Wisconsin cheesemakers produce a lot of common varieties (for example, 19% of the nation’s cheddar), a growing share of the state’s overall cheese wheel is make up of speciality cheeses. For example, Wisconsin makes 100% of the nation’s Limburger, 79% of its feta, and more than half of its Romano, Provolone, and Parmesan.

5. COWS APLENTY

Fact: Wisconsin has a lot of dairy cows. How many? As of April, there were 1.2 million in the state. For comparison, that’s more than the number of human beings in Wisconsin’s six largest cities – Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, and Appleton – combined. Fortunately, the cows don’t seem to realize they’ve got the city folk outnumbered.

Learn more about June Dairy Month on the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s website.