Many industries were hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, one of which has been our already struggling dairy industry. According to the Wisconsin Dairy Alliance, dairy farmers were forced to dump excess milk into fields and down drains because product demand virtually disappeared when stay-at-home orders went into effect. In addition to selling their milk and other dairy products to grocers, many also supply restaurants, coffee shops, schools, and more. When those closed down, it left them nowhere to ship their products, and it caused a staggering drop in the prices they were being paid for their milk, some even below the cost of production.

In response, Midwest groups, including Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Farmers Union, Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association, Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Cooperative Network, Dairy Business Association, and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, sent a joint letter to the government. In it, they urged lawmakers to provide direct financial relief to farmers and expedite the purchase of dairy commodities to “ensure the industry can remain fiscally able to function in its primary role of feeding the nation and the world” during this unprecedented disruption in supply and demand. Wisconsin Farmers Union president, Darin Von Ruden, stated that the CARES Act passed in March would “offer some much-needed relief, but it will not be sufficient to prevent the mass exodus of dairy farms this summer” unless the supply is balanced and prices are stabilized with additional financial measures.

This article first appeared in the June/July 2020 issue of the Menomonie Market Food Co-op newsletter, The Morsel. News sources: Dairy Reporter, Wisconsin Farmers Union.