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.
