Wisconsin dairy farmers continue to battle their pocketbooks as much as anything else on their operations. A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report showed about 360 dairy farms went out of business in 2020. Successful Farming magazine is giving some operators hope, suggesting the farm outlook in 2021 is the strongest it has looked in years thanks to higher commodity prices and larger government payments. That has allowed some farmers to start paying down their debt and transitioned Kewaunee County UW-Extension Agriculture Agent Aerica Bjurstrom into a pseudo financial consultant role. She says many farmers are in catch-up mode after five years of depressed dairy prices.

Bjurstrom says she leans heavily on the UW Center for Dairy Profitability and the Wisconsin Farm Center to help operators make the right financial decisions for their farms.

Photo from UW Extension