The US agricultural sector is in jeopardy. Specifically, the country's dairy industry is on the brink of collapse. Many analysts blame this on the current policies of US President Donald Trump. He has also left his footprints on domestic agriculture. According to the Financial Times, citing representatives from the business community, farmers in Wisconsin have warned about the potential shutdown of their activities. The reason is a shortage of migrant workers for various agricultural tasks.
This region is known as the "dairy state," so the opinions and actions of agricultural producers here are particularly important. According to the business community’s statement, if President Trump follows through on his promise to deport all illegal migrants, Wisconsin will be left without workers.
Representatives from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau have stated that they are not opposed to the deportation of criminals but do not support the deportation of migrants. The business community is also tolerant of undocumented workers who have lived and worked on farms for many years. These workers educate their children in local schools, work diligently, and have long become a part of rural life in the state.
According to Wisconsin farmers, the deportation of such migrants would halt all operations. "There will be no milk, no cheese, and no butter. We’ll have to become vegans," one of the representatives of the farming community bitterly joked. If all illegal migrants were to disappear, as per Trump’s orders, there would be no one left to milk cows or work in meatpacking plants.
The White House's plans to hire American citizens for these jobs seem unrealistic, as there are no applicants for such positions. Some of the Americans who could be hired are unsuitable for the hard physical labor in rural areas due to personal circumstances and health issues.
It was also reported that President Trump became seriously frustrated with the slow progress in deporting illegal migrants. Notably, since January 20, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been detaining an average of 1,100 migrants per day. This is 2.5 times fewer than what is required to meet the announced goal of deporting 1 million illegal migrants per year.
