AJR56: Enrolled Joint Resolution

2023 Assembly Joint Resolution 56

ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION

Relating to: proclaiming June 2023 as Dairy Month in Wisconsin.

Whereas, since 1937, the observation of Dairy Month in June has given Wisconsinites an opportunity to recognize the special role dairy has played in the state’s agricultural heritage; and

Whereas, as early as the 1840s, dairy farmers from New York, then the nation’s leading dairy producer, migrated to Wisconsin and established a foothold for the dairy industry; and

Whereas, in 1872, the Wisconsin Dairyman’s Association was founded with the goal of improving methods of making, selling, and marketing dairy products such as cheese and butter; and

Whereas, at the turn of the century, Wisconsin’s own Stephen Babcock developed a means to test the butterfat content of milk, which revolutionized the dairy industry by enabling standards of quality that could be used to establish milk prices; and

Whereas, by the onset of World War I, Wisconsin surpassed all other states in dairy production; and

Whereas, starting in 1940, Wisconsin cemented its reputation as “America’s Dairyland” by placing this slogan on license plates; and

Whereas, today, over 1.28 million cows across nearly 6,000 dairy farms call Wisconsin home; and

Whereas, the dairy industry contributes about $45.6 billion to the state economy annually; and

Whereas, as a key part of this industry, Wisconsin cheesemakers produce over 600 kinds of cheese and together produce over a quarter of the nation’s cheese; and

Whereas, because it has touched so many Wisconsinites’ lives, past and present, the dairy industry comprises a central component of Wisconsin heritage and identity; and

Whereas, in the month of June, the people of Wisconsin acknowledge the contributions of the state’s hard-working dairy farmers, who have made dairy a pillar of the state’s success; and

Whereas, these dairy farmers’ unwavering dedication to the highest standards of quality have consistently moved Wisconsin forward; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the legislature hereby proclaims June 2023 as Dairy Month in Wisconsin.

Senator Chris Kapenga

President of the Senate

Representative Robin J. Vos

Speaker of the Assembly

Date

Edward A. Blazel

Assembly Chief Clerk