Wisconsin’s 76th Alice in Dairyland, Ashley Hagenow, shares ideas and information about incorporating Wisconsin butter into your holiday season.

Some fun facts:

Butter is made from simple ingredients, cream and salt. Our dairy cows make sure we have plenty of cream available to keep Wisconsin’s 13 butter processing plants busy, making Wisconsin one of the top 2 butter producing states.

All of this butter finds its way to grocery store shelves around the country, with the average American consuming 6.5 pounds of butter each year.

Butter contributes to Wisconsin’s $45.6 billion dairy industry and supports Wisconsin’s dairy farmers and their families, of which 95% of dairy farms are family owned.

Hagenow says one favorite way to use butter is compound butters, like Cranberry Chipotle Cheddar Butter.

While you’re shopping for all of your holiday essentials, look for the Proudly Wisconsin Dairy badge or the number “55″ on packaging to identify genuine Wisconsin dairy products. Buying local is a great way to contribute to your local economy, and support Wisconsin’s farmers and small businesses.

Find more Wisconsin butter recipes at WisconsinCheese.com/butter