Out-of-state farmers such as Nebraska's Todd Tuls, who intends to build a 5,200-cow dairy operation in eastern Rock County, have helped turn around Wisconsin's declining milk production, a dairy economist said.
Tuls doesn't yet milk any cows in Wisconsin, but other out-of-state farmers building operations in the dairy state are helping close a Wisconsin milk deficit, said Bob Cropp, a dairy economist with UW-Madison. So are Wisconsin farmers who are expanding their herds and improving production, he said.
Wisconsin's cheese industry uses more milk than the state's cows can produce, and rising milk production seems only to fuel the need for more, according to data from industry groups.
Some Gazette readers have raised concerns that huge dairy operations such as the one planned by Tuls would flood the market with milk and drive down prices. Industry experts say that's not likely.
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