Fun Facts

There are over 1,000,000 cows in Wisconsin.

Milk is made up of 87 % water, 3.1 protein, 4.9% lactose, 3.5% fat and 0.2% minerals.

On average, a Wisconsin dairy farm has about 127 cows.

There are about 18,000 dairy farms in Wisconsin.

The dairy industry contributes over $25 billion to Wisconsin’s economy annually.

Juustoleipä cheese is a baked, non-aged cheese from Finland.

The average American consumes 27 pounds of cheese per year.

Over 25 billion gallons of milk are produced in Wisconsin each year.

Ice cream was invented in China over 3,000 years ago.

Chocolate milk is Babcock’s top selling milk variety.

An average dairy cow weighs 1,400 pounds.

Babcock Hall’s Dairy Plant was built in 1951.

Cheese curds, also referred to as “squeaky cheese,” are the freshest form of cheddar. When cheese is made, the curds separate from the whey. Once the whey is drained from the vats, the cheese curds are what remain.

Americans’ favorite way of consuming cheese is in mac and cheese.

Wisconsin produces 2.5 billion pounds of cheese each year.

Babcock processes over 2 million pounds of milk per year.

Milk must be held at 161.5° F for 15 seconds to be considered legally pasteurized.

UW–Madison established the nation’s first dairy school.

Wisconsin is responsible for 26% of U.S. cheese production.

On average, a cow produces 7 gallons of milk each day.

The addition of annatto color to the milk is the only difference between white and yellow cheddar.