Celebrating National Agriculture Week

National Agriculture Week: March 22 - March 28, 2020

National Agriculture Day: March 24, 2020

From America’s Breadbasket to America’s Dairyland, agriculture has truly shaped Wisconsin’s identity. Evidence of our agriculture roots can be seen every Sunday in the fall, as Wisconsinites turn on their television to watch the Green Bay Packers play. The name “Packers” originated thanks to original team sponsorship from the Indian Packing Company – a meat packing company located in Green Bay. Additionally, Wisconsin’s cheesemaking heritage is on display in the stands at Lambeau Field as fans proudly wear foam cheeseheads as they cheer for the Green and Gold.

From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, our lives are impacted every day by Wisconsin agriculture. This week, let us celebrate the passion and commitment of Wisconsin’s farmers and processors. All year long, they work to provide safe, wholesome products for our communities.

Each section of our state has a specific crop or product they excel in, which allows Wisconsin to rank number one in the country for multiple crops and commodities. Not only are we excellent cheesemakers, we also rank number one in producing green beans, ginseng and cranberries. Last year alone we produced over 5.5 million barrels of cranberries totaling over 60% of the nation’s cranberry crop.

In addition to our farmers, there are many supporting businesses lending a hand. As an industry, agriculture provides jobs for 435,700 people, or about one in nine people working in our state. Just as the agriculture industries in our state are diverse, so too are the jobs. Milk haulers, agriculture loan officers, equipment engineers, animal nutritionists, and crop consultants are all essential to keep Wisconsin agriculture, and our state’s economy moving forward.

Annually, agriculture contributes $104.8 billion to our state’s economy – accounting for about 16 percent of Wisconsin’s total sales. Each and every day, I am proud to represent all facets of our state’s diverse agriculture industry – though I am especially looking forward to this week, as we all take the time to shine a light on our farmers and processors.

This year marks the 47th anniversary of National Agriculture Week and National Agriculture Day celebrations throughout the United States. Learn more about how you can get involved with this year’s online events at agday.org.