“America’s Dairyland” is written on our licence plates. Our state has the most dairy farms of any state. Since 2009, our farmers have set a new annual record for milk production. However, the future of Wisconsin’s dairy industry appears bleak.
According to a new US Department of Agriculture report, the average American dairy farm has only turned a profit twice in the last 20 years. Between 1997 and 2017, 64% of Wisconsin’s family farms closed. In addition, one-third of dairy processors have gone out of business since 1970.
Why?
Monopolies. Dairy Farmers of America, Land O’ Lakes, and California Dairies, Inc. dominate the dairy industry, controlling 83% of milk sales. Simply put, large corporations are driving out small family farms.
The Concept
Dairy industry experts are urging the federal government to intervene and reform farm policy in order to assist family farmers like the nearly 7,000 in Wisconsin.
2020 marked the first time in state history that the number of dairy farms fell below 7,000.
“Family-scale dairies are collapsing at an alarming rate, and those that survive face rising costs, negative returns, and mounting debt, while consumers are sold the illusion of pastoral, sustainable milk products,” said Rebecca Wolf, a Food & Water Watch food policy analyst.
“The next Farm Bill represents a critical opportunity to reverse course by restoring supply management and reforming the farm safety net. The Farm System Reform Act, as well as the Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act, will help ensure that we do not dig a deeper hole by preventing consolidation and factory farm proliferation.”
Sarah Lloyd, a dairy farmer from Wisconsin, has also asked the government for assistance right now.
“We need prices that are fair, covering our cost of production and giving us a return to maintain our businesses and make a living. Overproduction and industry consolidation make this increasingly difficult, if not impossible,” Lloyd explained. “We won’t be able to export our way out of this.”
FAQ on the Farm Bill
The country’s first farm bill was enacted in the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The bill expires and is updated every five years. The current bill is set to expire at the end of 2023.
Data on Dairy
- Only about 3% of Wisconsin farms produce 40% of the state’s milk.
- Wisconsin’s milk production has increased by 25% in the last decade, but average farmer profits have not increased.
- Milk prices reached an all-time high in 2014, but have since fallen.
- In Wisconsin, the average profit margin for milk is 10%.
