The dairy industry in Eau Claire, Wisconsin has been facing a significant amount of competition from other areas in recent years. According to figures from the Department of Natural Resources, the number of industrial dairy farms in the state has increased by a whopping 55% in less than a decade, to 279 farms. This is largely due to the rise of factory farms or mega-farms, which can house thousands of cows in huge metal buildings. The influx of factory farms has disrupted the traditional model of Wisconsin farms.
In the late 1850s, the price of wheat began to fall as Wisconsin yields and quality declined and competition from farmers in Iowa and Minnesota increased. As a result, many farmers have returned to conventional dairy production due to its economic advantages. Reliable figures on immigrants working in the dairy industry are difficult to obtain. However, Wisconsin's best-known survey, conducted more than a decade ago, estimated that the hired immigrant labor force represented more than 40% of the total.
The best-known national survey, conducted five years ago for the National Federation of Milk Producers, estimated it at 51%. Today, a handful of large dairy farms in the Southwest produce more certified organic milk than the 450 organic dairies in Wisconsin combined. Most factory farms in Wisconsin are family owned, although there are outside investors in some operations. Operators manage operations 24 hours a day, often with dozens of employees, including professional staff with university degrees in dairy science. Joyce Cooper from the University of Washington is leading the development of data for the USDA Digital Commons LCA, an open access database and toolset being created by the USDA National Agriculture Library.
This is being done in response to the national need for data representing U. S. operations for use in life cycle assessments (LCAs) to support policy evaluation, decision-making about the implementation of technologies, and comparative statements about products or technologies publicly disclosed. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined a group of state attorneys general working with federal officials on anti-competitive practices in agriculture. Kaul didn't mention a specific agriculture sector as one of his office's potential targets, but he said he looks forward to hearing industry members talk about the impacts they see. Discovery Farms in Wisconsin will be used to identify farmers who cooperate in research on farm water quality.
They will also participate in demonstrations, research and evaluation on farms in the final years of the project. The cows are milked three times a day in an operation that works 24 hours a day and tankers full of milk come and go all the time. The dairy industry in Eau Claire is facing stiff competition from other areas due to an increase in factory farms and other factors. This has had an impact on traditional farming models and has led to an influx of immigrants working in this sector. Additionally, large dairy farms located elsewhere are producing more certified organic milk than all 450 organic dairies combined.
The Wisconsin Attorney General is also taking steps to address anti-competitive practices within this sector. Discovery Farms are being used to identify farmers who cooperate with research on farm water quality and participate in demonstrations and evaluations on farms during the final years of the project. The cows are milked three times a day and tankers full of milk come and go all the time. Joyce Cooper from the University of Washington is leading efforts to create an open access database and toolset for use by policy makers when evaluating technologies or making comparative statements about products or technologies publicly disclosed.
