Agriculture
Agriculture
You already know Wisconsin as the dairy capital of the world. The Madison Region alone has over 3,200 dairy farms with 218,000 cows producing more than 480 million gallons of milk each year. But that’s just the beginning.
Our region’s $1.86 billion agriculture industry supports nearly 60,000 jobs and represents a major strength and opportunity for our economy. The Madison Region boasts 14,000 farms across our eight counties, representing some of the richest agricultural land in the world.
The Madison Region lies at the epicenter of consumer-driven markets for artisanal, organic, and local foods. We continue to build on our tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship, developing sustainable bio-energy, creating successful infrastructure for value-added products, and increasing the market for local foods.
With funding from the Economic Development Administration in 2009, Thrive supported the creation of three food business incubators that assisted value-added food entrepreneurs by lowering entry costs, reducing risk, and increasing success rates. Throughout 2010, Thrive partnered with the Wisconsin Grocers Association and Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection on the Grocers Buy Local program, which increased sales of regionally-produced food products under the Something Special from Wisconsin™ brand. These projects support the region’s thriving agriculture industry by creating new food business, capturing local dollars, and ultimately supporting new jobs.
