Baldwin says Wisconsin farmers have been affected by the on-going trade wars, oversupply issues, and the recent bad weather.
They are also struggling when it comes to the cost of their products.
“Farmers work harder than anybody I know, right? And they don’t control the price they set for their product, somebody else sets that price,” Baldwin said.
According to Baldwin, farmers have also been facing an unusually long period of low prices.
Since 2016 American farmers have been going through a rough time and local dairy farmers are no exception.
“Our state has lost over 1,600 farms, dairy farms, since the President took office,” Baldwin said.
Gearing Oakdale is an organic dairy farm that’s been operating in Jackson County for more than a century.
For the Gearing family, it’s important to farm the way they do and to have people take notice.
“What we can do is just continue to do what we do and having the Governor and Senator Baldwin here to kind of see how we treat our land and treat our animals and raise our crops and milk our cows and get that kind of message out,” said Dallas Gearing, a local farmer.
Organic farming is not only a healthier alternative for animals and consumers, but also better for the environment. The methods that organic farming use can lead to cleaner water, a big priority for Evers.
“The practices that we see in organic farming fit right in to our issue around making sure that we have clean drinking water in the state,” Evers said. “That’s a huge issue we have. That’s why we decided 2019 would be the year of clean drinking water. Well cover crops and the way they work with their animals helps mitigate all of that.”
Both Evers and Baldwin stressed the importance of ending the trade war and supporting organic farming to help the agricultural industry.