Number of Wisconsin dairy herds with 500 or more cattle increases in past two decades

Wisconsin has seen an increase in dairy cattle herds with more than 500 cows since 2002 in nearly every county.

Adams, Ashland, Burnett, Crawford, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Rusk, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn and Waushara counties all had zero herds with 500 or more cattle in 2002, the starting point for the data, and had more than zero by 2022. To visualize this increase, the percent change was simplified to show a 100% increase per herd. For example, Eau Claire county had zero herds with 500 or more cattle in 2002, but had one herd in 2022. The percentage change is shown as an 100% increase.
Chart: John McCracken, Investigate MidwestSource: USDAGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper