Aided by the skills of immigrant cheesemakers and by the encouragement of dairy farmers who emigrated from New York—especially by the promotional effort of the agriculturist and publisher William D. Hoard—Wisconsin turned to dairying in the late 19th century. In 1997, Wisconsin ranked 2nd (after California) in the number of milk cows with 1.29 million milk cows which produced nearly 22.2 billion lb (10 billion kg) of milk. Dairy farms are prominent in nearly all regions, but especially in the Central Plains and Western Uplands. Wisconsin ranchers also raise livestock for meat production.
In 2003, the state had 3.3 million cattle and calves, valued at $3.27 billion. During 2002, Wisconsin farms had about 520,000 hogs and pigs, valued at $35.4 million. Poultry farmers sold 7.9 million lb (3.6 million kg) of chicken in 2001. Also during 2001, there were 1.24 billion eggs produced, valued at $51.5 million.