Governor Jim Doyle recently announced a $750,000 loan to the Dairy Farmers of America in Plymouth. The company will use the Department of Commerce assistance to install a new production line and make other improvements to its Plymouth facility.
"My top priority this year has been to help companies and communities move forward and create good-paying jobs for Wisconsin families," Governor Doyle said. "With this assistance, we are helping Dairy Farmers of America invest in their business, continue our agriculture leadership and retain hundreds of jobs."
Dairy Farmers of America is a farmer-owned cooperative with 17,000 members and 3,000 employees. At its Plymouth facility, it produces milk, cheese, eggs and milk and egg substitutes. The company will install a replacement line with new technology, rebuild three fillers, and replace an obsolete filler. The project will generate $13 million in investment and retain 357 jobs.
This investment builds on Governor Doyle's efforts to position Wisconsin for future growth. Since taking office in 2003, Governor Doyle has worked aggressively to create and retain jobs in Wisconsin. Governor Doyle's budget last year created some of the strongest economic development tools in the nation to help businesses create jobs and get people back to work. Wisconsin now has powerful new tax credits to help manufacturers create and retain jobs, new tools to help investors create start-ups, and new incentives to spur research and development.
Under Governor Doyle's leadership, Wisconsin has invested and promoted its diverse agricultural economy, which has now grown to approximately $59 billion annually and is responsible for more than 1 in 10 jobs in Wisconsin. Incentives to help modernize the dairy industry have helped increase milk production to record levels and have strengthened the state's status as the number one producer of cheese in the country. In addition, Wisconsin is second in the nation in the number of organic farms. At the same time, efforts to strengthen diversity in agriculture have made Wisconsin a leading producer of cranberries, specialty cheeses, organic vegetables and many other products. To enable successful farming for future generations, the state's best farmland is protected under the Working Lands Initiative that Governor Doyle signed into law in 2009.
Earlier this year, Governor Doyle signed into law several bills to create jobs and support investment in the state's agricultural industries. These bills created a food processing tax credit to create investment opportunities for Wisconsin food processing and distribution businesses; extended the dairy modernization tax credits through 2012 to help hard-pressed dairy farmers invest in their operations; and created a Farm to School program to help more Wisconsin schools have easier access to locally grown fruits and vegetables.