Pence spreads manure in the Dairy State about Trump's farm 'policies'

While Trump golfed, cloying presidential surrogate Mike Pence flew on the taxpayers' dime into Western Wisconsin, got anointed 'almost an honorary Badger' by the equally-sycophantic Ron Johnson and left behind a rhetorical runoff of manure as toxic as any dumped off a poorly managed CAFO

Manure runs off a Kewaunee County Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

when he said this:

"...under President Donald Trump we will always put Wisconsin farmers, Wisconsin businesses and Wisconsin families first."

To mouth this absolute b.s. is to ask Wisconsin farmers and media to disregard the multiple disclosures since Trump's inauguration of record numbers of Wisconsin dairy farm closings (2,100+), mass farm bankruptcies across the board, and escalating farm operator suicides after Trump's disastrous trade wars which served only his needy, weak ego and reinforced the contempt in which he is held by other nations' leaders whose economies a meddling-Trump enjoys contaminating.

Here are but a few of the personal and economic calamities which should have been tossed right back at Pence by any reporter within shouting distance:

* July, 2020: Wisconsin lost 213 dairy farms during 1st 6 months of 2020

* January, 2020: Wisconsin continues to lead U.S. in Farm bankruptcies

Wisconsin continues to hold the dubious distinction of leading the nation in family farm bankruptcies with 57 filings, up 8 filings over 2018. During 2019 the state lost more than 10 percent of its dairy operations as farmers sold their cows amidst a fifth year of poor milk prices.

According to American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist John Newton, last year there were 595 Chapter 12 family farm bankruptcies, up nearly 100 filings from 2018 and the highest level since 2011’s 637 Chapter 12 filings.

* January, 2020: Wisconsin dairy farmers, depression and suicide

* January, 2020: Wisconsin loses 818 dairy farms - 10% of the total statewide - in 2019

* April, 2019: Stung by Trump's Trade Wars, Wisconsin's Milk Farmers Face Extinction

* April, 2019: Wisconsin lost 465 dairy farms in 2017

* February 2019: Dairy closings set record again, WI leads nation is farm bankruptcies

* December, 2018: Wisconsin lost 638 dairy farms in 2018, at the time a record number

Here's a big picture view from Dan Kaufman, the Wisconsin-born chronicler of our state's decade of right-wing domination:

In the past decade, about half of the state’s dairy farms have gone out of business