Immigration, Labor Realities, and Wisconsin Dairy’s Critical Moment

(WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES) Wisconsin’s dairy sector is racing to contain a fast-moving crisis after fresh immigration enforcement and workplace policy shifts triggered acute staff shortages at farms already dependent on immigrant labor. In recent months, an ICE action in Manitowoc County and a summer walkout at W&W Dairy in Monroe over the rollout of E-Verify deepened the strain, farmers and workers said. Producers describe a labor pipeline that has narrowed to a thread, warning that without immediate relief the state’s milk output and cheese production—cornerstones of the local economy—could slip.

The impact falls heaviest on undocumented workers, who make up the majority of the labor force on Wisconsin dairy farms.

Scale of reliance on immigrant labor

The reliance is not a marginal trend. A 2023 University of Wisconsin School for Workers survey found that 70% of labor on Wisconsin dairy farms is performed by undocumented workers, with broader estimates ranging between 60% and 90%.

Nationally, experts label the situation the “51-79 Workforce Bomb”: immigrant workers account for roughly 51% of the agricultural labor force yet produce 79% of America’s dairy output. Farmers say that figure captures the urgency they feel every day as they try to keep operations running and cows milked.

Why dairy is particularly vulnerable

Dairy work is continuous and nonseasonal:

• Wisconsin dairy farms operate around the clock—milking, feeding, calving, and maintaining equipment—in a rhythm that does not pause for seasons.
• This creates a structural mismatch between year-round labor needs and the country’s main farm visa.
• The H-2A program, built for seasonal crops, is widely described by producers as “cumbersome, expensive, and poorly suited to the year-round demands of dairy production.”

Even where H-2A placements occur, the numbers are small and precarious. Wisconsin currently employs about 2,800 H-2A workers, a figure farm groups fear could decline amid legal challenges, administrative bottlenecks, and rising costs.

The state produces more than a quarter of the nation’s cheese, so when immigrant labor thins, output drops; when output drops, supply contracts and prices shift. Analysis by VisaVerge.com suggests that even modest enforcement spikes can ripple through processing plants and retail shelves within weeks.

Recent enforcement and workplace shifts: on-the-ground effects

The enforcement ripple is already visible:

• Raids across the state left farms understaffed and did not produce a wave of local hiring despite recruitment efforts, the Wisconsin Examiner reported.
• At W&W Dairy in Monroe, dozens of workers staged a rare strike after the company introduced E-Verify, saying the policy would push out longtime colleagues without legal status and offered no severance or cushion after years on the job.

Consequences for farms:

• Employers were left with barns to run and too few hands to do it.
• They face mounting pressure to comply with federal rules they view as at odds with daily farm realities.

Daily risks and mobility barriers for workers

Undocumented workers face additional risks that affect both personal safety and farm logistics:

• Wisconsin does not grant driver’s licenses to undocumented residents, so every drive to work can bring danger.
• A ProPublica investigation found dairy workers risking deportation while driving tractors on rural roads or hauling milk.
• These realities keep many workers out of sight, limit their ability to move between jobs, and complicate farms’ efforts to arrange transport.

Advocates note fear also discourages injured workers from seeking medical help and leaves families isolated in farm housing.

Worker vulnerability and farm economics

Labor advocates at the University of Wisconsin’s School for Workers have documented cases of labor trafficking on dairy farms—situations where immigrants faced coercive conditions and feared retaliation if they spoke up or tried to leave.

• Farmers say such cases do not reflect the industry standard, but acknowledge that a workforce without legal status is especially vulnerable.
• That vulnerability intersects with tight margins: persistent low milk prices and higher feed, fuel, and equipment costs mean many family farms struggle to absorb wage increases or pay the administrative costs tied to formal visa programs.
• When a worker leaves suddenly, there may be no one left to train a replacement.

Policy efforts and shortcomings

Policy momentum has not kept pace with the problem. In 2024, Wisconsin’s dairy committee prioritized labor reforms that would create access to year-round visas for dairy roles. Farm groups argue that permanent, predictable staffing is the only way to match the never-ending nature of the work.

In September 2025, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins acknowledged concerns:

“We’re doing everything we can right now, within the statute, to make it better, easier, more efficient, and cheaper for our producers to use that program.”

Yet past reform efforts faltered, and producers express doubt that change will arrive soon enough to prevent further disruption.

Employer paperwork and compliance burdens

Even when hiring authorized workers, farms face compliance requirements that add administrative burden:

• Employers must complete Form I-9, the federal employment verification document, for every employee and keep records up to date.
• The U.S. government provides Form I-9 and instructions at the official source: Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
• Farmers say the paperwork is manageable with stable teams but becomes a burden when turnover spikes and mid-shift call-offs force rapid hiring.

For a broader description of the H-2A framework, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services outline the program at: H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers.

The core mismatch and what producers ask for

At a national level, H-2A remains the only sizable legal door open to lower-wage agricultural work, but dairy’s year-round structure means producers often cannot use it. Wisconsin dairy groups say that unless Congress or federal agencies create or adapt a year-round category that fits livestock and milk production, farms will remain stuck: unable to legally hire enough people while facing tighter enforcement against the workers they already employ.

On the ground, the choice feels stark:

• Farmers say they cannot hire enough U.S.-born workers willing to work overnight shifts and manage physically demanding routines day after day.
• Advocates for immigrant labor argue the workforce is already present, experienced, and essential; they want legal pathways that match employment realities.

“In the agricultural world, the dairy industry is considered a permanent job,” said Francisco Guerrero, who works with Latino dairy workers across Wisconsin.
“Farmers cannot just bring in workers on an H2-B visa or a temporary worker from another country to work at the farm, because a dairy farm doesn’t stop. It is year-round, 24/7, 365-day-a-year work.”

Local and national consequences

The tension leaves families and businesses in limbo:

• Workers fear a traffic stop or a shift to E-Verify could end years of steady employment.
• Employers fear that losing experienced hands will cost milk and trigger penalties for missed supply contracts.
• Local processors worry about gaps that stall production lines and strain supply chains.
• Small towns feel secondary effects when families uproot—schools and stores notice declines.

Those local ripples feed a broader picture: Wisconsin dairy is integral to national dairy supply, and when its workforce shakes, so does the system that keeps milk, cheese, and butter on shelves.

What producers are asking for — and the likely path forward

Producers who once avoided politics now call lawmakers, asking for a narrow fix: a visa that matches the job.

Their outlook:

• Without a year-round visa or adapted program, they warn the “51-79 Workforce Bomb” will keep ticking: more raids, more walkouts, and more empty milking parlors.
• They say they can handle long hours, market swings, and harsh winters; they cannot handle a legal framework that treats permanent dairy jobs as if seasonal and replaceable.

For now, many are hanging on—patching schedules, retraining where possible, and hoping for policy relief that has yet to come.

Key takeaway

• Wisconsin dairy depends heavily on immigrant labor to sustain production levels.
• Federal enforcement is rising while legal tools to hire year-round help do not fit the job.
• The central policy fix is clear in concept—align immigration rules with the reality that dairy is year-round work—but politically and administratively it remains difficult to achieve.

Until immigration policy is adapted, Wisconsin dairy will remain on a narrow ledge, one enforcement action or workforce shock away from another drop in output.