They raise more snap beans and sweet corn for processing than any other state. Wisconsin is first in the nation in corn grown for silage, second in hay and fourth in the nation for oats and potatoes. Soil conservation, wise use of the land, improved breeding of livestock and a willingness to try new ideas has made Wisconsin a continuing leader in agricultural production. That diversity also has enabled the state to prevent any great swings in the economy. When one sector is down, others pick up the slack.
Diversity provides a cushion, both within the sectors and between economic divisions.
While Wisconsin generally is better known as an agriculture state, which it is, the state is also rated among the Top 15 as an industrial state. Today the state leads the nation in the production of low horsepower gasoline engines, power cranes, shovel hoists, mining machinery and other types of industrial equipment along with industrial controls and xray apparatus equipment. Nondurable goods industries make Wisconsin the largest producer of milk, butter, and cheese in the nation. A wide variety of wood products come out the state's 15 million acres of forests. Wisconsin paper making makes the state a leading paper producer.