Managing national milk production to boost dairy farm profitability is not a new concept. The U.S government has made at least three notable attempts to manage the milk supply since the 1970’s, however these attempts were largely unsuccessful. This begs the question, i...

Growth in export markets has long been lauded as the measure of success in American agriculture. Last year U.S Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue credited exports for being a “major driver of the rural economy, generating 20 percent of U.S. farm income and supportin...

It really has been a year since we packed a room at Barron Electric when Barron County Farm Bureau and Farmers Union held a farmer-led discussion on the dairy crisis. Wow!

One thing that bothers me as much — if not more — than the apathy of dairy industry leaders and el...

“Reality.” It’s a word I’ve run across lately more than I’d like.

The reality is, or so I’ve been told, that little can be done to save the hundreds of dairy farmers who are going out of business and being wiped from the landscape of America’s Dairyland. The reality is...

The farmer is the central cog in a system wherein all ancillary cogs profit because the central cog keeps turning. Seed and agrochemical companies, animal breeders, equipment dealers, crop insurance salesmen, and bankers on the front end, and food processors and manufa...

In August Wisconsin Farmers Union, along with 26 Dairy Together advocates, took a bus to New York for a dairy summit hosted by AgriMark co-op. The summit highlighted various policy proposals to stabilize prices for dairy farmers, most of them containing some mechanism...

Could you take a 30% cut in pay? Dairy farmers have taken that cut, or more, but still work hard to put wholesome food on our tables.The dairy crisis is real, folks, not only in Wisconsin, but across the USA. If you eat, you have a connection to this crisis. Milk price...

Today I got back from a great experience with the Wisconsin Farmers Union. As you may or may not know, 20 Wisconsin active and retired dairy farmers, media representatives, and WFU staff started our 18 hour journey to Albany, New York to a Dairy Summit hosted by Agri-M...

My 200-cow dairy farm is located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in a corner of the state that borders Canada on two sides.  If my farm would have been just 10 miles to the east or the north in Canada, I’d be living in a different world.

For nearly three consecutive...

Since starting my new position at Wisconsin Farmers Union, the Dairy crisis has been at the front of my mind. That’s not surprising. Each day brings another story about dairy farmers going bankrupt, getting a 30-day termination notice, or opening a milk check that won’...