This has been happening to dairy farmers for well over two decades.
It’s our trade dealS with Canada that sealed their fate.
Trump is actually trying to do something about it.
Read a book TS
herro Happy Man,
milk prices were pretty excellent back in 2014, but since then its been sad times for the dairy industry.
the deal that sealed milk's fate doesn't have alot to do with Canada, though. its just that Americans are consuming less dairy, and children are drinking less milk (there are so many choices now, like soy, almond and coconut "milks").
farmers in Wisconsin also just overproduced. the market was glutted.
and on top of all of that, you've got China responding to the trade war by levying their own tariffs on US dairy products.
so, its a confluence of several dynamics that have lowered the price of milk to the point where staying in the dairy business is going to be untenable for many small US farmers.
*muses*
i think i read that there are basically the same amount of cows being used to produce dairy products in the state, its just that there are less farmers partaking in the activity. its the big, industrialized farms that have managed to survive.
hopefully those out-of-work farmers can pick up some new skills and become coders, or perhaps move to an area where jobs are more bountiful...or maybe the US government could provide them with more welfare.
i don't really blame the POTUS for this, though his trade war isn't helping matters much (of course its worth it in the long run, since China will collapse and Xi will ultimately surrender to Mr. Trump's trade demands down the road, leading to a brighter and more prosperous future for US agribusiness).
- IGIT