Highlights Archives
A Monthlong Tribute to Our Dairy Heritage
June is National Dairy Month, and there is no better place to celebrate Wisconsin's dairy heritage than here in "America's Dairyland." Wisconsin cows produce 1.8 billion pounds of milk each month, most of which is processed into more than 500 varieties of cheese. The state leads the nation in the production of cheddar, American, Muenster, brick, and blue cheeses, and is the only U.S. producer of the famous (or infamous as the case may be) limburger cheese. Wisconsin also produces nearly 25 percent of the nation's butter supply.
Wisconsin became a leader in the dairy industry in the 19th century, thanks largely to the efforts of William Dempster Hoard. With the decline of wheat farming in the mid-19th century, Hoard began a vigorous campaign to improve and grow dairy farming, asserting that Wisconsin was particularly well suited to the industry. He crusaded to get farmers who were losing money due to poor soil and crop yields to switch to dairying. In 1872, Hoard organized a dairying convention in Watertown, Wisconsin, where he founded the State Dairyman's Association, the first of its kind in the nation. His crusade for a prosperous dairy industry prompted the founding of Hoard's Dairyman, the national dairy farm magazine, in 1885. Hoard also ran his own dairy farm near Fort Atkinson and sold milk to customers in distinctive "pyroglazed" half-gallon bottles.
Dairying got a boost from the University of Wisconsin, which actively promoted the industry through scientific research and agricultural "short courses" designed to educate farmers on the benefits of dairying. Professor Stephen Babcock's test to measure the butterfat of milk allowed for the consistent manufacture of high quality butter and cheese and led Wisconsin to implement the nation's first grading system for cheese.
June Dairy Month began as "National Milk Month" in the summer of 1937 in response to a surplus of milk on the market that spring. The promotion was expanded in 1939 to include all dairy products and, in 1940, Wisconsin Governor Julius P. Heil officially proclaimed June to be Dairy Month in Wisconsin. June also marks the start of the yearlong duties of one of dairying's most recognizable spokespersons — Alice in Dairyland. See the winning dress design from the first Alice in Dairyland.
If you are looking for a way to celebrate, you might want to consult Favorite Recipes from America's Dairyland, a 1944 cookbook featuring "nutritious and zestful" meals such as cheese and pea salad (page 97), nippy cheese sandwich filling (page 108), and a casserole of sea food (page 84). Be on the lookout for colorful cows, too, as Wisconsin plays host to around 100 painted and costumed cows from June 3 through October 13, 2006.
:: Posted June 2, 2006
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