More than 32 billion gallons of milk are produced in Wisconsin each year. America’s Dairyland takes each June to celebrate those in the industry.
Governor Tony Evers made a stop at a local ice cream shop to highlight it.
Last summer, the Windmill Ice Cream shop in Tomahawk went through 12,000 gallons of ice cream.
Owner Pat Berg and her husband bought the shop in 1993.
“All these years it's been growing and growing and growing, in spite of the fact that this used to be [Highway] 51 and the people who sold it, people said they sold it because they knew 51 was going to be gone and they wouldn't get business. It worked the opposite for us,” said Berg.
Ice cream shops like the Windmill straddle two of Wisconsin’s biggest industries: dairy and tourism.
Dairy is a roughly $50 billion industry in Wisconsin.
Farmers are facing challenges from rising input costs to volatile markets.
Governor Tony Evers highlighted some of the state’s investments in the dairy industry during a recent visit to the Windmill—this includes about $50,000 for a western Wisconsin producer looking to make cottage cheese which has increased in popularity in recent years.
“It is important not only to kind of eat your way through the month, but also talk about how important the farming is, and also the processing of it,” said Evers.
The dairy industry in Wisconsin employs roughly 120,000 people.
June Dairy Month encourages people to visit farms for a dairy breakfast and take opportunities to learn more about what it takes to make milk, cheese, ice cream, and all the other dairy products.
“That makes me the happiest when I see the kids coming,” said Berg. “We had some school busses come yesterday. We had a lot of the older kids, but they all come in with a smile. That's what's good about owning an ice cream shop.”
Wisconsin is home to about 1.3 million dairy cows and more than 5,000 dairy farms.
