Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Secretary Randy Romanski announced that according to a study by the UW–Madison Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, between 2017 and 2022, the most current data available, the Wisconsin agricultural production and food processing sectors have increased 10.9%. Those sectors contributed to a combined $116.3 billion in economic impact in 2022, 14.3% of the state’s total economic output.
The Contribution of Agriculture to the Wisconsin Economy: An Update for 2022 is available here. This study, completed in collaboration with UW-Extension, provides an economic accounting of Wisconsin’s agricultural industry. According to the study, Wisconsin’s dairy farms and processors continue to be an industry leader, contributing $52.8 billion annually to the state’s economy. Dairy processing is a significant contributor to this economic impact. The study further states that Wisconsin agriculture also remains a major employer and is responsible for 353,900 jobs across the state, or 9.5% of the state’s workforce.
