There is no more quintessential image of Wisconsin than a red barn with a herd of cows grazing in a green field against a blue sky. But that part of the state’s economy and culture is being torn apart as farmers wrestle with a grinding, five-year price slump. Dairy farmers — mostly small, family-run operations — are closing at a rate of nearly three a day.
The unprecedented drop comes as farmers are whipsawed by economic forces — declining consumption and increased global competition, sudden trade wars and perpetual immigration crackdowns.
Journalists from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin are examining the factors behind the crisis and its impact on the state, its economy and identity.
An industry in turmoil
- Chapter one: Dairy farms are in crisis — and it could change Wisconsin forever
- Farmers cling to a dream that, for some, has become a nightmare.
- ‘We need to be heard now because time is running out’
- Fremont dairy farmers fight to survive after 55 years
- How four family dairy farms in Wisconsin are fighting to survive
- Q&A: Whipsawed by low milk prices, more dairy farmers call it quits.
Economic breakdown
- Chapter two: Brutal economic system forcing dairy farmers to call it quits
- Family farms are at the mercy of trade wars, economies of scale and a complex pricing system.
- ‘It ain’t fun anymore’: Auctioneers are busy selling off dying Wisconsin dairy farms
- Game: Can you survive the dairy crisis?
- Historical perspective: The milk strikes of 1933 were the worst year for Wisconsin dairy farms
