Schools closing and restaurants running limited hours are taking its toll on dairy farmers in Door and Kewaunee Counties. After climbing up to $18.00 per hundredweight for Class 3 Milk Futures in late January, the CME Group has the price tumbling to $13.05 for the same product. Ever since the recession brought milk prices down to between $9 and $12 in 2008 and 2009, some farmers have invested public and private programs to help guarantee the amount they can make. Dave Jauquet, owner of Luxemburg’s Jauquet Hillview Dairy, credits he and his wife Stacy’s strict use of the programs for helping his 600-cow operation weather the economic downturns.

While dairy farming has presented its fair share of challenges in recent years, Jauquet says producing a high-quality product for consumers encourages him to work hard every day. Farmers may also get a boost from the stimulus bill which earmarked $9.5 billion to support producers.