Wisconsin’s automobile license plates proudly proclaim our state as America’s Dairyland. We are — ask people from all over the world about Wisconsin, and they’ll correctly tell you that we’re a powerhouse of dairy production. Rural Whitewater, Wisconsin has plenty of cows nearby (if not downtown, as some out-of-state readers sometimes ask).
Some nearby dairy farms have hundreds of cows, and those dairy cows don’t milk themselves. Manuel Quinones, of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, has a published story about the value of immigrant labor to Wisconsin’s dairy farms, entitled, “Some state farmers concerned they’ll lose immigrant labor.” (The full story is available online.)
Tom and June McClellan run a Delavan-area dairy farm and say they’ve used migrant workers for the last 10 years or so to help with milking their herd of 475 cows. The workers have paperwork demonstrating they are in this country legally, she noted.
June McClellan said she and her husband have tried to hire local workers without much luck, and she thinks the long hours and type of labor are the reason.
“We’ve had much more success this way,” she said. “These workers are eager to get in 50-plus hours. They’re hungrier people, more appreciative of work. They’re also resourceful and knowledgeable about everything from concrete to cows.”
Lots of people talk about wanting to support dairy farmers; those who actually own dairy farms know that their businesses depend on immigrant labor.
I am reminded of something I once heard Senate majority leader George Mitchell say. Exasperated with his fellow Democrats, who were talking & quibbling, but not doing anything else, he asked, “Do you want to make a statement, or do you want to make a law?” Mitchell knew that practical results mattered.
In the same way, politicians who want to support dairy farming in Wisconsin can talk all they want about a dozen possibilities, but they’d do better to listen to honest-to-goodness, genuine, Wisconsin dairy owners to learn what’s important to preserve farms.
Those who believe that they can rise in popular acclaim at the expense of immigrant laborers are mistaken. There’s no doubt that politicians can pressure immigrant families. There’s even less doubt where that leads the community — acrimony and poverty, torn families and ruined businesses.
Labor restrictions don’t milk cows; laborers do. A free and efficient market is a free and efficient market in capital and labor. Our best chance to compete against dairy producers in other states, like California, is to reduce impediments to low-cost dairy farming.
That’s how we’ll remain, a generation from now, America’s Dairyland.