Wisconsin Dairy Farmers Going Bankrupt In Record Numbers, Blame Trump Tariffs
by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk,
ZeroHedge.com
Mon, 04/29/2019
A perfect storm hit Wisconsin dairy farms: Overproduction, Bad Decisions, Trump’s Tariffs
A trio of major errors hit Wisconsin dairy farmers, but the last one, Trump’s tariffs, was the final straw threw many Wisconsin farmers into bankruptcy.
Please consider Stung by Trump’s Trade Wars, Wisconsin’s Milk Farmers Face Extinction.
For decades, Denise and Tom Murray rose before 5 a.m. and shuffled through mud and snow to milk cows on the farm that has been in their family since 1939. This month, after years of falling milk prices and mounting debt, the Murrays sold their last milk cow, taking pictures while holding back tears as the final one was loaded onto a truck and taken away.
“It’s awful hard to see them go out the last time,” said Ms. Murray, 53. “It’s scary because you don’t know what your next paycheck is going to be.”
Over the past two years, nearly 1,200 of the state’s dairy farms have stopped milking cows and so far this year, another 212 have disappeared, with many shifting production to beef or vegetables. The total number of herds in Wisconsin is now below 8,000 — about half as many as 15 years ago. In 2018, 49 Wisconsin farms filed for bankruptcy — the highest of any state in the country, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Short-Term Pain Nonsense
Trump pleads that it’s short-term pain for long-term gain. But it’s tough to see any long-term gain when the intermediate term is bankruptcy.
The Murray’s received all of $400 from Trump’s farm aid package. “In every aspect, it’s not worth it — it’s not worth the fight,” said Mr. Murray.
The Rest…HERE
