ABSTRACT
The southern part of Wisconsin has always been the heart of the state's agricultural lands. Human factors, such as proximity to mining and Great Lakes port towns, and physical factors, such as fertile soils and a longer growing season, produced the most developed agricultural landscapes in the state. From the 1840s to the 1880s wheat was the most important cash crop grown in Wisconsin, which was unique among US states in the rapid rise and decline of wheat farming. During the 1870s, several developments helped strengthen the cheese industry in Wisconsin. In 1871 refrigerated railroad cars became available to deliver cheese shipments to East Coast markets. With a restrictive physical environment and a short growing season, Wisconsin dairy farmers grow crops primarily as feed rather than as cash crops. Midwest dairy farmers, in contrast to New England dairy farmers, grow almost all the feed for their cattle. This is achieved by using a corn-oats-hay rotation system.
