For more than 15 months, Wisconsin has been making concentrated efforts to boost agricultural exports, regardless of commodity. Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, recently took over as chair of the Wisconsin Ag Exports Council. This initiative aims to boost the export of dairy, meat, crop and other agricultural products by 25% by June 2026.
Pam Jahnke visits with Vincent about the various trade missions that have come to the state, and where Wisconsin’s agricultural messages are being shared outside the state.
One of the unique exporting opportunities coming us is the World Dairy Summit in Chicago. Vincent says Wisconsin will not only have several team members involved in the trade show, highlighting Wisconsin dairy products – they’ll also be bringing potential buyers north to tour the state’s dairy facilities.
There will be tour stops including: Larsen Acres and Hinchley Farms, Klondike Cheese, ABS Global and CDR(Center for Dairy Research) – topped off with an evening event. Vincent says companies are seeing tremendous success if they can bring potential buyers in to meet farmers, master cheesemakers and processors. The story and connection is turning into sales.
Wisconsin’s dairy industry recognizes that 95% of the world’s population lives outside the U.S. They’re focused on developing not only relationships, but also new products to meet international markets and consumers demands.
