Monday, September 17, 2018

Another 47 dairy farms close in WI; 101 since July

Small dairies in Wisconsin remain under pressure, as trade negotiations with Canada approach a critical deadline later this month, reports the industry publication Dairy Herd: 
Wisconsin has lost another 47 dairy farms in August, with the total number of licensed farms standing now at just 8,372. The loss of 47 farms is just slightly lower than the 54 farms lost in July. The state has lost 429 farms since the beginning of the year, a decrease of 4.9%, and 588 the past year, a decrease of 6.6%.
Of course, Walker's priority is serving the big dairy operators' agendas, including environmental deregulation, that would help them increase their market share:
State records show that one day before Walker’s October speech in Trego, in northwestern Wisconsin, the governor’s office received detailed plans from the Dairy Business Association on legal requirements and strategic options to move the program. 
I'd noted those depressing, going-out-of-business trends in Wisconsin, here and also here
Walker no friend to Wisconsin family farmers. Or their water
So here's the state of the Dairy State in one new headline:
More than 4% of Wisconsin Dairy Farms Call It Quits in 2018—So Far
Western Wisconsin Had Most Farm Bankruptcies in the US
My take:
Gov. Walker helps expand the big CAFO dairy operations, embraces the Tariff King who's closing off export markets, and assigns no priority to stemming the leap in farm-country well-water and waterway contamination.
My take today: I wouldn't look yet - - or ever - - for the Trump campaign presence in Wisconsin which Walker and Vukmir have said they'd welcome.

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