As Alice in Dairyland, I have been so thankful for the opportunity to learn more about different aspects of Wisconsin agriculture. I recently visited my first hog farm and learned so much! The visit left me wondering about our state’s history, and future, in the pork industry.
Swine have played an important role in Wisconsin agriculture for generations. The 1920 Census of Agriculture showed that 80% of Wisconsin farms had pigs, totaling around 1.6 million animals. Many of these hogs were destined for home consumption, but hog farmers also supplied the state’s sausage makers with fresh product, catering to Wisconsin’s German and Polish populations.
The swine industry has seen some upward and downward swings in Wisconsin throughout the last 150 years as well. After an early peak in the 1920s, the Great Depression and the droughts of the ‘30s dropped the swine population by nearly a million animals. Excellent corn yields and wartime recovery efforts helped expand pork production again, leading to Wisconsin’s highest pork population of more than 2.5 million in the 1940s. Once the wartime incentives expired, the hog population again declined somewhat, but remained steady with 1.5 to two million animals until the 1980s, when it dropped further, this time more significantly. Today, Wisconsin farms are home to about 365,000 hogs, up about 20,000 from last year.
Despite these changes in numbers, Wisconsin pork has continued to thrive, creating thousands of jobs and contributing to the state’s economy. A 2017 impact study found that about 10,000 jobs are involved in the pork industry, and in 2023 the value of production from Wisconsin’s hog industry totaled nearly $169 million. Former Wisconsin Pork Association executive vice president Tammy Vaassen shared that Wisconsin is actually a growing spot for interest in raising hogs because of our less dense population. “Producers are able to maintain distance from one pig farm to another farm,” she says. “By doing that, we help to reduce the exposure to potential pig diseases that can transfer between closely spaced farms.”
To further guard against any potential contamination, many hog farms implement strong biosecurity measures. These can include showering before and after visiting the farm, sterilizing apparel or having a unique set of clothes to wear at the farm, isolating animals that are new to the herd, restricting visitors to the facilities, and more. These methods may seem time-consuming as an employee and limiting as a consumer, but they exist to help keep everyone — animals and people — safe and healthy. To learn more, visit the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection biosecurity website.
Though farming methods and technology have evolved since Wisconsinites first started raising pigs, farmers and processors still make it their mission to provide a safe, wholesome, and secure food supply for families. Farms of all types and sizes understand their livelihoods are tied to the land and to the health of animals in their care.
As a consumer, I love the many options of pork available in the grocery store, and I admire the nutritional value of each cut. Each market hog represents 371 servings of pork that are packed with key nutrients such as protein, thiamin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, and niacin. Pork lets us eat healthy while enjoying the delicious flavors that we love, as seven common cuts of pork are 16% leaner and have 27% less saturated fat than in 1991.
If you’re looking to learn more about Wisconsin pork, you can find tips, resources, recipes, and more from the Wisconsin Pork Association wppa.org!
— Halei Heinzel is the 77th Alice in Dairyland, Wisconsin’s agriculture ambassador who works with media professionals to educate consumers about the importance of agriculture to Wisconsin’s economy and way of life. She can be reached at halei.heinzel@wisconsin.gov.
