Some producers concerned about future production
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Some dairy farmers in the United States are worried about what a possible Donald Trump presidency could mean for the future of their farms and production.
Mark Diederichs, a general manager at Lake Breeze Dairy in Malone, Wisconsin, told Bloomberg that if the businessman is elected as the next president, the farm might not have enough staff to care for the herd because a majority of his staff are immigrants, and Trump has proposed to deport undocumented immigrants.
“It’s hard to get people that want to come out and do this type of work,” he told Bloomberg.
According to a report conducted for the National Milk Producers Federation, Trump’s plan could result in the closure of nearly 7,000 farms, the loss of more than 200,000 jobs and a 50 billion pound decrease in milk production.
The report also indicated that eliminating immigrant labor could reduce the American dairy herd by 2.1 million cows, see retail milk prices increase by 90 per cent, and reduce the U.S. economic output by $32 billion.
Some producers who were previously in favor of Trump are considering changing their allegiance to protect their livelihoods.
“With my group of friends, we kind of joked around and said, ‘Wow, did you ever think you’d vote for Hillary?”’, Mitch Breuning, president of the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, told Bloomberg.