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Wisconsin Dairies Business Information, Profile, and History

P.O. Box 111
Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913-0111
U.S.A.

History of Wisconsin Dairies

Wisconsin Dairies (WD) is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the United States, a Fortune 500 company that operates 19 manufacturing plants and conducts $2 million worth of business on any given work day. It produces one third of the cheese con-sumed in the United States (not under its own brand name, but by selling it to major food processors and marketers) and is the nation's largest manufacturer and marketer of whey products (a by-product in cheese making) to the food processing and phar-maceutical industries in the United States and abroad. As a result, it is a world leader in the dairy industry. It is also a unique company, owned and run by 4,800 dairy farm families in Wiscon-sin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, who as members pay no dues and sign no contracts. In a time of difficult change for farming in the United States, WD has operated continuously in the black.

Farming cooperatives, or associations of farmers who share their resources and divide their profits equally, are as old as agriculture. Old World farmers brought the concept to the New World, and Wisconsin, heavily populated by German immigrants, saw the establishment of its first farming co-ops in the 1840s. Since that time, the success of these groups has closely followed the fortunes of the family dairy farm. As the number of Wisconsin dairy farms grew, so did the number of farming co-ops. Yet, dairy farming did not escape the general decline of the family farm that began in the 1960s, despite numerous federal price supports. In 1963 there were approximately 90,000 dairy farms in the Wisconsin; by 1985, the number was closer to 35,000. Cooperatives fared no better than the farms.

In 1963, when Wisconsin Dairies was officially established, dairy farming was still in its heyday. While its history commenced in that year, this new co-op was really the product of the merger of two parent co-ops, Wisconsin Creamery Co-op and the Wisconsin Co-op Creamery Association, each of which had been established in 1945. (These two were in turn the product of the merger of numerous other, far older, co-ops.) The decision of the two co-ops to join forces came about as the result of a coincidence. Each had independently found the need for a new dryer for dry milk processing. The boards of directors of the co-ops agreed to purchase a single dryer that would be shared. While negotiating the purchase, the two co-op directors developed a proposal for a merger. (In the end, the dryer was never purchased.) Later, they put the question of the merger to their respective cooperative members. The vote in March 1963 in favor of merger into a new cooperative entity, Wisconsin Dairies, was overwhelming. Approximately 1,700 farm families became members that day. Melvin Sprecher, who had been president of one of the merging co-ops, became chairman of WD, a position he would maintain until 1974. Vice-chairman for the next ten years would be Clarence Lehman.

At first, butter constituted a major product of WD. However, competition was keen, and reliance on butter for most of the company's sales (easy to do, since the federal government subsidized butter heavily) would not serve the co-op well in the long run. Instead, the twin themes in WD's history became diversification and expansion. Yet, until the new company could find its own niche in the marketplace, WD remained for the first several years chiefly a butter and milk producer, barely distinguishable from other dairy co-ops in the heartland. Expansion did not have to wait, though; a year after WD's official inauguration, 400 members of the Richland Co-op Creamery Company joined WD, followed through the years by 13 other mergers. The largest acquisition occurred in 1979, when 1,600 dairy farmers in Iowa and Minnesota, almost as many as the original WD in 1963, joined the company.

Cheese production gradually emerged as the mainstay of the company, since cheese consumption by the late 1960s was on the rise. By 1977, co-op members approved the construction of the company's first cheese manufacturing plant at Richland Center, Wisconsin, equipped with the latest facilities. Fifteen years after the Richland Center plant went into operation, WD was producing ten varieties of cheese, with one plant, in Clayton, Wisconsin, exclusively manufacturing mozzarella. Like all of WD's dairy products, it was not marketed under a WD brand name. (The company's only foray into retailing its products, a dairy store selling WD milk products and ice cream in Madison, Wisconsin, failed after one year.) Instead, all are sold to major food processing companies such as Kraft USA, Land O'Lakes, Kroger, and Little Caesar's Pizza.

WD was originally established in large part to eliminate duplicate services and consolidate production by means of automation, and much progress in this regard was made in WD's first decade. During this time the co-op's members also built a solid company infrastructure that would produce a cash flow healthy enough to enable the company to diversify. The organization of WD was and remains uncomplicated; "corporate headquarters" became a small two-story building in the heart of Baraboo, in southwest Wisconsin. The co-op members from 4,800 farm families attend annual district meetings where elections to the board of directors are held on a one person, one vote principle. The board of directors, approximately 35 to 45 representatives, select the president as well as chair of the board. Besides district meetings, there is an annual general convention where major concerns are aired and put to a vote. Young farmers (under 35) are encouraged to become members, while current young members are involved in a special WD program to promote greater involvement in their company.

The only criterion for membership in WD is selling one's milk to the co-op. There are no contracts, annual dues, or stocks, and consequently, no single major stockholder whose voice predominates over others. However, not all who wish to join are accepted. Part of the company's efforts for greater efficiency is also its quest for higher quality. Producers of low-quality milk, either contaminated with antibiotics or bacteria, are excluded from membership. Traditionally, dairy farmers were paid for their milk based on the amount of butterfat contained. WD was one of the first co-ops in the nation to introduce cash incentives for high-quality milk in the 1970s (rather than penalizing for low quality). Researchers working with WD discovered that higher quality milk, that is, low in somatic cell counts (bacteria) and without antibiotic residues, produced superior cheese that required less milk to produce and had a longer shelf life. In 1979 only 56 percent of WD members qualified for the incentive bonus; by 1991, over 90 percent did. In 1992 members sent a record 12,000 samples of milk for lab testing before the milk was even shipped to the plant. Assistance in raising the quality of milk as well as equipment inspection are provided to members free of charge. These and other innovative strategies have been imitated widely by other dairy co-ops in the nation.

Efficiency plus a healthy cash flow and a feel for market forces have driven WD toward greater diversity, which has been the secret of the company's consistent success. Its biggest coup was the acquisition in 1984 of the Foremost whey processing plants in Wisconsin from the McKesson Corporation, based in San Francisco. This occurred just at a time when whey, a watery by-product of cheese making, was discovered to have many uses. Hundreds of uses have been developed, mainly in food processing, ice cream manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, infant formula, bakery goods, and candy. Every pound of cheese produces at least nine pounds of whey.

Historically, whey had been discarded, usually in the nearest body of water or sewage system. Concern over the environment and stricter state and federal laws in the 1970s and '80s put pressure on many businesses to find environmentally sounder means to dispose of "waste." WD's researchers began to experiment with uses for the whey. Eventually they were able to separate the valuable protein and lactose ingredients in whey and convinced the members of WD to expand into the whey business at a time when there were virtually no competitors.

With the purchase of the Foremost whey plant for only $20 million, WD gained access to many new markets. Whey and its products have replaced cheese as the mainstay of WD, and the increasing importance of whey in food processing and medicine have given WD a niche in the international market as well. In 1992 alone, WD exported whey products to over 20 countries, and the demand keeps increasing. WD has become the most important producer of whey protein concentrate in the country and is second (12 percent market share) in the production of lactose; at least half of WD's annual profit is derived from whey. WD plants turn out at least 26 whey and 11 lactose products and blends for the domestic and international markets.

While federal government price supports for agriculture have been in force since the New Deal, wholesale deregulation under the administration of President Ronald Reagan threatened to reduce and even eliminate dairy price supports. Dairy farmers have had to face the reality of continuous erosion of this "minimum wage" standard in farming. Although most of its business and profit are derived from competition on the free market, WD has always been a forceful advocate for the continuation of these critical price supports that help sustain the medium-sized, family-run farm, the bedrock of Wisconsin Dairies.

WD's efficient management and streamlined, market-oriented manufacturing operations have made the company the envy of many dairy co-ops, but it has not been without its share of problems. In the early 1990s a recession brought a significant drop in profitability, and WD faced its first ever labor dispute, which resulted in a strike in one of its cheese plants. Dozens of mergers over the years enabled WD to enter the ranks of Fortune 500 companies as one of the largest manufacturers in the United States, but bigger did not always spell better. There were signs that some of its farmer members were beginning to object to WD's growing elite of technicians, market specialists, and researchers. To offset these problems, the co-op took new steps to fine tune its business. WD's trend toward growth gave way in the early 1990s to expansion of a different sort, "strategic alliances" with non-member co-ops which had the same needs and shared the same goals (such as the agreement among WD and three other co-ops to save money by shipping their milk to the nearest plant).

WD suffered financially during the recession of the 1990s and had its share of headaches typical to a modern company. Even so, it maintained its forward-looking, highly motivated membership, and with international markets providing increasingly large and profitable outlets for its diverse array of products, it was expected to remain a strong force in the world dairy industry.

Related information about Wisconsin

pop (2000e) 5 363 700; area 145 431 km²/56 153 sq mi. State in NC USA, divided into 72 counties; the ‘Badger State’; first settled by French traders, 1670; surrendered to the British, 1763; ceded to the USA, 1783 (part of the Northwest Territory); Territory of Wisconsin formed, 1836; 30th state to join the Union, 1848; bounded N by L Superior and L Michigan, E by L Michigan; capital, Madison; other chief cities, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Racine; rivers include the Mississippi (part of the W border), Menominee (part of the E border), and Wisconsin; L Winnebago lies to the E; c.26 000 km²/10 000 sq mi of L Michigan lie within the state boundary; highest point, Timms Hill (595 m/1952 ft); glaciated terrain in the N and W, largely forested; over 8500 lakes; timber products, dairy products, paper, metal products, machinery, food processing, electrical equipment, transport equipment, grain, vegetables, brewing; produces more milk, butter, and cheese than any other state; over a third of the nation's cheese production; heavy industry in the Milwaukee area.

Wisconsin (IPA pronunciation: ) is a state in the United States, located in the Midwest. Its capital is Madison; the governor is Jim Doyle.

The Wisconsin area, bordered by the current-day states of Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois, as well as Lakes Michigan and Superior, has been part of United States territory since the end of the American Revolution; the Wisconsin Territory (which included parts of other current states) was formed on July 3, 1836. Wisconsin ratified its constitution March 13, 1848 and was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848 as the thirtieth state.

Wisconsin's rural economy was originally based on furs; in the 19th century, emphasis shifted to mining, lumber, farming, dairy, and tourism. Large-scale industrialization began in the late 19th century in the southeast of the state, with the city of Milwaukee as its major center. Wisconsin's landscape, largely shaped by the Wisconsin glaciation of the last Ice Age, makes the state popular for both tourism and many forms of outdoor recreation.

Since its founding, Wisconsin has been ethnically heterogeneous, with New Englanders being among the first to arrive; Large numbers of European immigrants followed them, including Germans, mostly between 1850 and 1900, Scandinavians and smaller groups of Belgians, Swiss, Finns, Irish Catholics and others; in the twentieth century, large numbers of Polish and African-Americans arrived in the state.

Today, 42.6% of the population is of German ancestry, making Wisconsin one of the most German-American states in the United States, although there are many other major ethnic groups, including one of the larger Hmong populations in the nation.

During the period of the Civil War, Wisconsin was a Republican and pro-Union stronghold. class=ilnk>Robert La Follette and his sons, originally of the Republican Party, but later of their own Progressive Party. Major Republican figures include former Governor Tommy Thompson, while major Democrats include governor Jim Doyle and Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold.Conant ch 1; Pearce

History

In 1634, Frenchman Jean Nicolet became Wisconsin's first European explorer, landing at Red Banks, near modern-day Green Bay in search of a passage to the Orient. The French controlled the area until it was ceded to the British in 1763.

After the American Revolutionary War, Wisconsin was part of the U.S. Northwest Territory. It was then governed as part of Indiana Territory, Illinois Territory, and Michigan Territory. Settlement began when the first two public land offices opened in 1834.Public land offices, and settlement. Wisconsin Territory was organized on July 3, 1836, and it became the 30th state on May 29 1848.

The state mineral is Galena, otherwise known as lead sulfide, which reflects Wisconsin's early mining history. Many town names such as Mineral Point recall a period in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s, when Wisconsin was an important mining state. many of them immigrants from Cornwall, England ? Most Germans were Catholic or Lutheran, with some Lutherans forming the Wisconsin Synod and others joining the Missouri Synod. When nativist Republicans led by governor William Hoard passed the Bennett Law in 1889 that would shut down German language schools, both Catholic and Lutheran, they revolted and helped elect the Democrats in 1890. Lake Superior and Michigan to the north; and by Iowa and Minnesota to the west. Part of the state's boundaries includes the Mississippi River and St. Croix River in the west, and the Menominee River in the northeast.
With its location between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, Wisconsin is home to a wide variety of geographical features. Just to the south, the Northern Highland includes the state's highest point, Timms Hill, as well as massive forests and thousands of small glacial lakes. In the middle of the state, the Central Plain possesses some unique sandstone formations like the Dells of the Wisconsin River in addition to rich farmland. in fact Wisconsin contains 11,188 square miles (28,977 km²) of water, more than all but three other states (Alaska, Michigan & Florida). The distinctive Door Peninsula, which extends off of the eastern coast of the state, contains one of the state's most beautiful tourist destinations, Door County. The area draws thousands of visitors yearly to its quaint villages, seasonal cherry picking, and ever-popular fish boils.

Areas under the management of the National Park Service include:

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore along Lake Superior
Ice Age National Scenic Trail
North Country National Scenic Trail
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

Demographics

The state has always been ethnically heterogeneous. Large numbers of Germans arrived between 1850 and 1900, centering in Milwaukee, but also settling in many small cities and farm areas in the southeast. Small colonies of Belgians, Swiss, Finns and other groups came to the state. After 1900, Polish immigrants came to Milwaukee, followed by African Americans from 1940 on. The top 5 states with a net increase of migration into Wisconsin are 1) Illinois, 2) California, 3) Indiana 4) New York and 5) Pennsylvania.

As of 2004, there are 229,800 foreign-born residents in the state (4.2% of the state population), and an estimated 41,000 undocumented workers living in the state, accounting for 18% of the foreign-born population.fact

The five largest ancestry groups in Wisconsin are: German (42.6%), Irish (10.9%), Polish (9.3%), Norwegian (8.5%), English (6.5%)

Wisconsin is widely regarded as the most "German-American" state in the Union (although North Dakota, with 43.9% German ancestry, can also make this claim). Menominee county is the only county in the eastern United States with an American Indian majority.

86% of Wisconsin's black population lives in one of five cities: Milwaukee, Racine, Madison, Kenosha and Beloit while Milwaukee itself is home to nearly three-fourths of the state's blacks. In the Great Lakes region, only Detroit and Cleveland have a higher percentage of blacks.

33% of Wisconsin's Asian population is Hmong, with significant communities in Milwaukee, Wausau, Green Bay, Sheboygan, Appleton, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Madison, and Eau Claire.

6.4% of Wisconsin's population was reported as under 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.1% were 65 or older.

Religion

The largest denominations are Roman Catholic, Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Synod and ELCA Lutherans. The per capita personal income was $32,157 in 2004.

The economy of Wisconsin is driven by agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing. Wisconsin produces more dairy products than any other state in the United States except California, and it leads the nation in cheese production. In addition to dairying, Wisconsin ranks first in the production of corn for silage, cranberries, ginseng, and snap beans for processing. Wisconsin is also a leading producer of oats, potatoes, carrots, tart cherries, maple syrup, and sweet corn for processing.

Badger State
State Animal:	Badger
State Domesticated Animal:	Dairy Cow
State Wild Animal:	White-tailed Deer
State Beverage:	Milk
State Bird:	Robin
State Capital:	Madison
State Dog:	Spaniel
State Fish:	Muskellunge
State Flower:	Wood Violet
State Fossil:	Trilobite
State Grain:	Corn
State Insect:	Honeybee
State Motto:	Forward
State Song:	"On, Wisconsin!"
State Tree:	Sugar Maple
State Mineral:	Galena (Lead sulfide)
State Rock:	Red Granite
State Soil:	Antigo Silt Loam
State Dance:	Polka
State Symbol of Peace:	Mourning Dove

Given Wisconsin's strong agricultural tradition, it is not surprising that a large part of the state's manufacturing sector deals with food processing. Some well known food brands produced in Wisconsin include Oscar Mayer, Tombstone and Jack's frozen pizza, and Johnsonville Bratwursts. Milwaukee is a major producer of beer and the home of Miller Brewing Company's world headquarters, the nation's second largest brewer.

In addition to food processing, Wisconsin is home to several transportation equipment and machinery manufacturers. Major Wisconsin companies in these categories include the Kohler Company, Rockwell Automation, Johnson Controls, Briggs & Stratton, Miller Electric, Milwaukee Electric Tool Company, Oshkosh Truck, and Harley-Davidson. the lower Fox River from Lake Winnebago to the Bay of Green Bay has twenty-four paper mills along its 39-mile (63 km) stretch. The largest paper companies with operations in Wisconsin are Kimberly-Clark and Georgia-Pacific, both of which rank among the state's top ten employers.

Healthcare is a growing sector of the economy with key players such as Tomotherapy and GE Healthcare. Tourism destinations such as the House on the Rock near Spring Green, Circus World Museum in Baraboo, and the collection of attractions around Wisconsin Dells each draw thousands of visitors every year, and festivals such as Summerfest and the EAA Oshkosh Airshow always attract large crowds.

Wisconsin collects personal income tax based on 4 income level brackets, which range from 4.6 percent to 6.75 percent. Sales of motor vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, mobile homes 45 feet (13.7 m) or less in length, trailers, semi-trailers, all-terrain vehicles, and aircraft are subject to the county use tax rather than county sales tax.

The most common property tax assessed on Wisconsin residents is the real property tax, or their residential property tax.

Law and government

The capital is Madison and the largest city is Milwaukee.
The governor of Wisconsin is Jim Doyle.

See also:

Wisconsin Constitution
Governors of Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Legislature
- Wisconsin State Senate
- Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin Supreme Court
U.S. Congressional Delegations from Wisconsin
- List of U.S. Senators from Wisconsin

Politics

Much of the state's political history involved coalitions among different ethnic groups. This was fought out in the Bennett Law campaign of 1890, when the Germans switched to the Democratic Party, who won a major victory.
Wisconsin's political history encompasses, on the one hand, Joe McCarthy, the controversial anti-Communist censured by the Senate during the 1950s. The first Socialist mayor of a large city in the United States was Emil Seidel, elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1910; another Socialist, Daniel Hoan, was mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940.

Wisconsin has a strong progressive tradition dating to the governorship of Russ Feingold was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001, and Democrat Tammy Baldwin from Madison is the only openly lesbian U.S. Representative. Republican have strongholds in suburban areas, while Democrats dominate some rural areas and inner cities of the Madison and Milwaukee metropolitan urban centers.

Important cities and villages

Cities and villages are incorporated urban areas in Wisconsin. Towns are unincorporated minor civil divisions of counties.

Wisconsin's self-promotion as "America's Dairyland" sometimes leads to a mistaken impression that it is an exclusively rural state. Milwaukee is slightly larger than Boston and part of a largely developed string of cities that stretches down the western edge of Lake Michigan into greater Chicago and also into northwestern Indiana. Medium-size cities dot the state and anchor a network of working farms surrounding them.

Cities in Wisconsin with population of 50,000 or more as of 2000 include:

Milwaukee, population 596,125 (1,709,926 in metropolitan area), largest city
Madison, population 208,054 (588,885 in metropolitan area), state capital
Green Bay, population 102,767 (295,473 in metropolitan area)
Kenosha, population 90,352, part of Chicagoland
Racine, population 81,855, part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Appleton, population 70,087 (213,102 in metropolitan area)
Waukesha, population 64,825 part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Oshkosh, population 62,916 (159,008 in metropolitan area)
Eau Claire, population 61,704 (148,337 in metropolitan area)
West Allis, population 61,254, part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Janesville, population 60,200 (154,794 in metropolitan area)
La Crosse, population 51,818 (128,592 in metropolitan area)
Sheboygan, population 50,792 (113,376 in metropolitan area)

Education

Colleges and universities

Public education in Wisconsin includes both the 26-campus University of Wisconsin System, headquartered in Madison, and the 16-campus Wisconsin Technical College System which coordinates with the University of Wisconsin. Notable private colleges and universities include Marquette University, Beloit College,and Lawrence University, among others. The Green Bay Packers have been part of the National Football League since the league's second season in 1921 and currently hold the record for the most NFL titles, earning the city of Green Bay the nickname "Titletown".

Club	Sport	League
Green Bay Packers	Football	National Football League
Milwaukee Brewers	Baseball	Major League Baseball
Milwaukee Bucks	Basketball	National Basketball Association
Milwaukee Admirals	Ice hockey	American Hockey League
Milwaukee Wave	Soccer	Major Indoor Soccer League
Green Bay Blizzard	Arena football	af2
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Baseball	Midwest League
Beloit Snappers	Baseball	Midwest League
Eau Claire Express	Baseball	Northwoods League
La Crosse Loggers	Baseball	Northwoods League
Madison Mallards	Baseball	Northwoods League
Wisconsin Woodchucks	Baseball	Northwoods League

Miscellaneous topics

USS Wisconsin was named in honor of this state.

Known as "America's Dairyland," Wisconsin is also known for cheese. A lesser known, but still significant nickname for Wisconsin is "The Copper State," referring to the copper mines in the northwestern part of the state.

The state is home to the Green Bay Packers, the most successful small-market professional sports franchise in the world. The University of Wisconsin Badgers football program, playing at Camp Randall Stadium, enjoys similar loyalty; The waiting list for Packers season tickets has over 50,000 names.
The Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee is known for its unique architecture. Madison is home to the Vilas Zoo which is free for all visitors, and the Olbrich Gardens conservatory, as well as the hub of cultural activity at the University of Wisconsin. It is also known for Monona Terrace, a convention center that was designed by Taliesin Architect Anthony Puttnam, based loosely on a 1930s design by Frank Lloyd Wright, a world-renowned architect and Wisconsin native who was born in Richland Center. Decades after Wright's death, Taliesin remains an architectural office and school for his followers.

Wisconsin has sister-state relationships with the Germany's Hesse, Japan's Chiba Prefecture, Mexico's Jalisco, China's Heilongjiang, and Nicaragua.Sister States

Name

Although the exact etymology of the name is uncertain, "Wisconsin" is thought to be an English version of a French adaptation of an Indian word. It may come from the Ojibwe word Miskwasiniing, meaning "Red-stone place," which was probably the name given to the Wisconsin River, and was recorded as Ouisconsin by the French and changed to its current form by the English.

References

Michael Barone and Richard E.

Additional topics

Company HistoryFarming, Agriculture, & Forestry

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