We all know Wisconsin as America’s Dairyland, but how much do we actually know about Wisconsin milk? This month’s issue of Milwaukee Magazine features a number of articles all about dairy. From the origins of Wisconsin’s dairy industry to what it’s like to be a modern-day dairy farmer, it explores what milk means in Wisconsin's culture.
Chris Drosner is the executive editor at Milwaukee Magazine, and he shares more about dairy.
"I think 'Dairy State' is our identity, and you know it's easy to lose track of history with that aspect. But we have a timeline of major events in milk history, and, of course, it's focused on Wisconsin," Drosner says.
One of the first events on this timeline that Drosner mentions is the founding of the Wisconsin Dairyman Association in 1872 by William Dempster Hoard, who would later become governor. "It set the table for this industry to become as prominent as it is with working on regulation, establishing quality standards, and setting prices," Drosner explains.
The article also looks at how cows are milked and focuses on how Wisconsin has maintained its smaller family farms. "Wisconsin is unusual on the national scene in retaining a lot of its really small dairy farms. We have some really huge operations, too. But more human-scale operations are still very common here in Wisconsin," he says.
As a former agricultural editor, Drosner was familiar with the agricultural space. "But taking the [Milwaukee] Magizine approach to it, it's a lot different. We're trying to inform and entertain in an equal measure. And I think we really nailed it with this one," Drosner says.
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