Wisconsin is known for its cows and dairy but the state is also a top producer in the sheep and wool industry. Sheep are such a big deal in the state that there’s an annual Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, which kicked off Friday and goes through the weekend.
"Wisconsin has about 2,600 individual farms that are raising sheep, that puts us in the top 10 in the country as far as sheep raisers," said Dave Thomas, a professor of sheep management and genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Animal Sciences.
Sheep are usually associated with wool, but Thomas said wool is actually the least valuable product of sheep, economically speaking. Sheep will shear about 8 pounds of wool in a year, Thomas said, and depending on quality, that wool is worth 50 cents to a dollar per pound. So each animal is only producing $4 to $8 of wool a year.
"Most of the money that comes into a commercial sheep operation comes from the sale of animals that are destined for meat," he said.
Another important product from sheep is milk. It’s used in artisan cheese-making and for those who are looking for alternatives to cow milk-based cheeses.
Thomas explained that these cheeses are extremely popular in the United States, and in Wisconsin there are a number of cheesemakers using sheep milk to produce award-winning cheeses.
"About half of the world exports of sheep milk cheeses from all countries in the world come to the U.S., so we feel that there’s a tremendous amount of consumption in the U.S. that could be filled by increased domestic production," he said.