New Report: Donald Trump’s Disastrous Agenda for Wisconsin’s Dairyland
WISCONSIN – As Dairy Month begins, and ahead of President Trump’s visit to Wisconsin, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today released a report highlighting how the Trump Administration’s policies are devastating Wisconsin farmers – jacking up input costs and cutting off access to customers who buy Made in Wisconsin agricultural products.
“Wisconsin farmers do backbreaking work to produce world-class products that feed the world and drive our rural economies. President Trump came into office promising to support our farmers, but instead has taken every opportunity to jack up their costs, limit their customers, and cut into their margins,” said Senator Baldwin. “Between Donald Trump’s trade war, unnecessary war in Iran, and attacks on our health care system, Wisconsin farmers are paying more for everything, and Donald Trump has no solutions to the problems he’s caused. As President Trump visits Wisconsin, he owes our farmers more than lip service – they need real relief from the high costs they are paying.”
Image from Baldwin’s office.
The report outlines how President Trump’s policies – including starting a trade war and a war of choice in Iran – has sent Wisconsin farmers’ input costs through the roof:
- Higher Costs: President Trump’s war in Iran has jacked up prices for Wisconsin farmers – with diesel hitting historic highs in May, up 80% from the year before. Likewise, global fertilizer prices jumped 50% in recent months.
- Fewer Customers: Between the President’s trade wars and cuts to nutrition programs, Wisconsin farmers are losing access to key markets they rely on. According to the American Farm Bureau, crop farmers lost $34.6 billion in 2025 in large part due to Donald Trump’s trade war. President Trump’s trade war also caused the top buyer of U.S. soybeans, China, to effectively boycott U.S. soybeans, cutting off a major export market for Wisconsin farmers. Soybean farmers lost almost $75 per harvested acre of soybeans in the 2025 crop. The report also highlights Republicans’ historic cut to the SNAP program, hurting farmers who sell nutritious food to American families on the food assistance program.
- Health Care Cuts: Republicans’ historic $1 trillion cut to Medicaid will devastate rural hospitals, which disproportionately rely on the program to keep their doors open. In light of these cuts, one estimate found that three Wisconsin hospitals are at risk of closing. With Republicans taking away the enhanced premium tax credits that help Americans afford health insurance, 1 in 4 farmers who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace will pay on average $780 more this year.
Senator Baldwin has traveled Wisconsin talking to farmers, growers, and ranchers about how higher costs and uncertainty under President Trump are adding to already challenging headwinds for their businesses. In recent weeks, Senator Baldwin has visited farms in Janesville, Sharon, Warrens, Stoddard, and Seymour to hear firsthand about the headwinds facing farmers.
Baldwin visits Rebout Farms in Janesville (top left), Frontier Farms in Sharon (top right), Wetherby Cranberry Co. in Warrens (bottom left), and Hamburg Hills Farms in Stoddard (bottom right). Photo from Baldwin’s office.
A full version of the report is available here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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