Officials have asked Wisconsin dairy farmers to dump all their milk and be reimbursed for the next week because of the milk surplus, due to COVID-19

Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WE’LL TELL YOU WHY IN A MOMENT. FIRST THOUGH, WE WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS VIDEO. THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF MILK IS BEING DUMPED ON DAIRY FARMS ACROSS WISCONSIN. 12 NEWS CAROLINE REINWALD IN WEST BEND -- WEST BEND TO TELL US WHY CORONAVIRUS IS THE CAUSE. >> ON THE GOLDEN E DAIRY FARM IN WEST BEND, ABOUT 30,000 GALLONS OF MILK A DAY IS ALL BEING DUMPED. >> IT’S VERY DISHEARTENING. A LOT GOES INTO PRODUCING MILK THESE DAYS WE ARE PUTTING ALL THIS WORK INTO IT, ALL THIS PRIDE, ALL THIS TIME, AND WE’RE JUST DUMPING IT DOWN THE DRAIN. THEY GOT A CALL TUESDAY NIGHT FROM DAIRY FARMS AMERICA IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO SAFELY THEIR MILK AND BE IN REAR’S -- BE REIMBURSED FOR THE PRODUCT. >> ALL I KNOW IS THEY CAN’T FOLLOW MILK AND THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO TAKE IT TO. >> WITH NOWHERE TO TAKE THE MILK, DUMPING IS THE ONLY IMMEDIATE OPTION. RIGHT NOW THERE IS A SURPLUS OF MILK, PARTIALLY BECAUSE PEOPLE STOCKED UP EARLY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS AND AREN’T BUYING NOW. MANY STORES ARE LIMITING THEIR MILK SALES PER FAMILY. AND SCHOOLS THAT WOULD NORMALLY HAVE MILK IN CAFETERIAS, AREN’T OPEN. THE PROBLEM IS THEIR OPERATIONS CAN’T STOP, EVEN WITH CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS. SO THREE TIMES A DAY, THESE 2400 COWS STILL NEED TO BE MILKED. IT’S DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS MILK. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ON A STORE SHELF 24 HOURS FROM NO BUT IT’S NOT. JOYCE: GOVERNOR EVERS HAS ASKED THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO BUY THE SURPLUS MILK AND REDISTRIBUTE IT TO PLACES LIKE FOOD BANKS AND NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IN THE MEANTIME, THE M

Advertisement Surplus forces dairy farmers to dump hundreds of thousands of gallons of milk Officials have asked Wisconsin dairy farmers to dump all their milk and be reimbursed for the next week because of the milk surplus, due to COVID-19 Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Dairy farmers across Wisconsin are being asked to dump all their milk for the next week. Continuing Coverage: Coronavirus in WisconsinA milk surplus has arisen during the coronavirus crisis. Schools, that would normally have milk in their cafeterias, are now closed. Many stores are limiting milk sales per family and plenty of households stocked up on milk at the beginning of the pandemic and don't need any right now. Ryan Elbe at Golden "E" Dairy farm in West Bend said they got a call from Farmers of America on Tuesday, asking them if they would be willing to dump their milk. "All I know is, apparently, they can't bottle milk they have nowhere to take it to," Elbe said. Elbe said they are going to be reimbursed for the milk they dump, but it is an incredible waste."Everything here is the same, it's going to remain going the same. We're going to feed our cows high quality feed, we're going to continue milking them, we're going to continue caring for the cows," Elbe said. "The only thing is the milk is not leaving the farm. It is not getting loaded onto the milk tankers. It's going directly down the drain."Golden "E" Dairy has about 2,400 cows, and Elbe said they're dumping about 30,000 gallons of milk down the drain every day. "We're going to be dumping milk until late next week. They're going to call us on Monday and we're going to get a better idea of that, but for right now, it sounds like we will for sure be dumping until next Wednesday," Elbe said. Under the direction of Gov. Tony Evers, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to step in and support the dairy industry during this time. In a letter, the two organizations requested the USDA purchase surplus commodities for redistribution to food banks, nutrition assistance programs, and other sources. In the meantime, dairy farmers like Elbe will still need to dump all their milk."It's very disheartening. A lot goes into producing milk these days," Elbe said. "We're putting all this work into it. All this pride, all this time and we're just dumping it down the drain. It's delicious, nutritious milk that would have been on a store shelf 24 hours from now, but it's not." Sign up for coronavirus email alerts from WISNGet breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app.Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube