Creating Dairyland

How caring for cows saved our soil, created our landscape, brought prosperity to our state, and still shapes our way of life in Wisconsin

For more information about “Creating Dairyland,” visit the book’s webpage.

Paperback: $26.95

NOW AN AUDIOBOOK!

Available at your local bookstore or buy now online here.

WHY ARE THERE COWS IN WISCONSIN ANYWAYS?

The story of dairying in Wisconsin is the story of how our very landscape and way of life were created. By making cows the center of our farm life and learning how to care for them, our ancestors launched a revolution that changed much more than the way farmers earned their living - it changed us.

In “Creating Dairyland,” journalist, oral historian, and former dairyman Ed Janus opens the pages of the fascinating story of Wisconsin dairy farming. He explores the profound idea that led to the remarkable “big bang” of dairying here a century and a half ago.

He helps us understand why there are cows in Wisconsin, how farmers became responsible stewards of our resources, and how cows have paid them back for their efforts. And he introduces us to dairy farmers and cheesemakers of today: men and women who want to tell us why they love what they do.

Ed Janus offers a sort of field guide to Dairyland, showing us how to “read” our landscape with fresh eyes, explaining what we see today by describing how and why it came to be. “Creating Dairyland” pays tribute to the many thousands of Wisconsin farmers who have found a way to stay on their land with their cows. Their remarkable effort of labor, intelligence, and faith is one of the great stories of Wisconsin - a story still being written.

Author Ed Janus on Wisconsin Public Radio

Ed Janus signing books at the “Creating Dairyland” release

About the Author

Ed Janus spent two years as a dairy farmer in Crawford County, Wisconsin, where he fell in love with cows, fields, barns, and farmers. Since then he has interviewed hundreds of people as an audio journalist, writer, and oral historian and has created radio programs for public radio, the Voice of America, and publishers in the United States and Germany. His first-person audio book on surviving breast cancer won top honors from the Audio Publishers Association in 1999. In 2007 Ed created a series of audio profiles of today’s dairy farmers and cheesemakers for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, and he recently founded the Wisconsin Dairy History Project. He lives in Madison where he founded both the Madison Muskies baseball team and the world-renowned Capital Brewery.