Wisconsin farmers are having a rough time lately. In the first quarter of 2019, 449 Wisconsin dairy farms went out of business, up 25% from the same time last year. Global commodity prices have tumbled in recent years, reducing income for farm families. A rapidly changing and unpredictable climate has disrupted planting and harvesting, and […]
Climate Change and the State of Agriculture
Tonight, the Perpetual Notion Machine again looks into climate change. This time, how the impacts of climate change will/have effected agriculture and farming, and what, if anything, can farmers do in terms of current farming practices to adapt to the new realities of climate change. It seems that agriculture will need to develop new and […]
The Diversity of Cows
Drive across Wisconsin, and you’ll see a lot of cows. This is the dairy state, after all. Chances are, nearly every cow you see is of the familiar black and white Holstein breed. Ninety percent of all dairy cows in the United States are Holsteins. The second-most popular breed, Jerseys, account for another seven percent. […]
US Dairy Industry Produces Its Own Woes
Last month, Canadian company Grassland Dairy cancelled contracts to buy milk from scores of U.S. dairy farmers. Over 50 Wisconsin farms found themselves with no buyers for their milk. The issue bubbled up to get the notice of Washington, inspiring President Donald Trump to slap a retaliatory tariff on Canadian lumber. After much scrambling, including […]
Trump’s Immigration Policy Enforcement Could Double Price of Mil...
A gallon of conventionally-produced milk currently costs around three dollars. That price could rise to as high as six dollars a gallon if President Donald Trump succeeds in his promise to deport all undocumented immigrants in the United States. That’s because the dairy industry, in Wisconsin and elsewhere, depends heavily on workers from Mexico and […]
