Wisconsin dairy farms fail as milk prices drop

Jan 06, 2020 at 09:08 AM CST - 1
Hundreds of these barns are dark now, the cows have disappeared, the hum of the milking machines has been silenced. “All of our neighbors are finished,” said Sue Spaulding, a dairy farmer near Shell Lake in Washburn County. She and her husband, Chuck, a soldier, milk about 60 cows on their 300-acre farm that Chuck bought when he was only 17 years old. Seven years ago, the Spauldings borrowed a lot to modernize their barn and position things for the future. “It looked good on paper,” said Sue.

Jan 06, 2020 at 09:08 AM CST

- 1

Hundreds of these barns are dark now, the cows have disappeared, the hum of the milking machines has been silenced. “All of our neighbors are finished,” said Sue Spaulding, a dairy farmer near Shell Lake in Washburn County. She and her husband, Chuck, a soldier, milk about 60 cows on their 300-acre farm that Chuck bought when he was only 17 years old. Seven years ago, the Spauldings borrowed a lot to modernize their barn and position things for the future. “It looked good on paper,” said Sue.