Cris Peterson said Tuesday at the Republican National Convention that Trump helped struggling dairy farmers, socked by low milk prices in 2016, in part by “negotiating new trade deals.”
However, in 2018 alone, roughly 700 Wisconsin dairy farms went out of business, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, a trend accompanied by a spate of farmer suicides.
Among the factors was the renegotiated trade pact with Mexico and Canada, which blocked the export of a specific type of milk to Canada integral to cheesemaking. The provision hurt farmers notably in southwest Wisconsin, a region Trump won but where Democrats have posted victories since.
