Irma Flores (left) treats cows’ udders before and after milking with disinfectant to help heal scrapes and scratches, while Javier Rosas (right) attaches the milking machine to the cows at Rockland Dairy in Random Lake. Credit: Michael Sears

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Some Wisconsin dairy farmers are worried about having enough workers to milk their cows Thursday as Latino immigrants attend a "A Day Without Latinos" rally at the state Capitol in Madison.

Immigrants account for more than 40% of the hired help on dairy farms, according to a University of Wisconsin study. Without immigrants, mostly from Mexico, some farmers say they would be forced to quit milking cows because there aren't enough other people willing to do the work.

You could not operate a large dairy farm today without immigrants, said Jason Vorpahl, owner of Rockland Dairy in Random Lake.

Thursday's rally, expected to attract thousands, could disrupt businesses dependent on immigrant labor. Even if they don't attend the rally, Latino immigrants have been urged not to work that day.

Some farms might get by with skeleton crews Thursday, said John Holevoet, director of government affairs for the Dairy Business Association, based in Green Bay.

Farmers say it is difficult to find reliable help, even in rural areas where people were born and raised on farms, and even when the jobs pay significantly more than minimum wage.

Part of the problem is a declining population in rural areas, especially as young people leave for other opportunities.

"We pay well, we provide decent benefits, and we still have trouble recruiting and retaining employees," Holevoet said.

The Madison rally is intended to draw attention to the importance of immigrant workers in Wisconsin and to protest state legislation that some believe could lead to more deportations.

Dairy Dreams farm in Casco has planned ahead for the rally. It milks about 2,850 cows and has 42 employees, most of them Latinos. Farm owner Don Niles, a first-generation dairy farmer, has given a handful of employees permission to attend the Madison rally, with full pay, to represent their co-workers.

"That was a compromise we reached. They felt supported by the dairy, and they supported me by making sure that all of the work tasks are covered," Niles said.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the immigrants advocacy group Voces de la Frontera, said she has tried to prepare farmers and other business owners for Thursday's rally, and that she has solicited their support.

"We want to send a strong message to the state Legislature and to Governor Walker that we do not want to see anti-immigrant bills passed. You cannot have a dairy industry in Wisconsin without immigrant labor," Neumann-Ortiz said.

In a marathon debate, one of the bills that Latino immigrants are worried about passed the state Assembly and Senate on Tuesday, sending it to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature.

Under the bill, SB 533, local governments would face restrictions on issuing local photo identification cards to people such as immigrants in the country illegally.

In a second bill dealing with illegal immigrants, Assembly Republicans also approved on a party-line vote of 62-35 a bill to fine so-called sanctuary cities that put restrictions on police questioning those charged with crimes about immigration status. The proposal goes to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.

Neither of the bills is necessarily a threat to the dairy industry's immigrant workforce, according to farmers. However, they make immigrants feel unwelcome, and that could result in some people leaving the state for other states that don't have such laws.

"That disturbs me very much because my employees are very welcomed," Niles said. "The vast majority of my workforce, with the exception of my family and two other people, are all from outside the United States originally. I think this country was established by people who had the drive to leave their own limited situation and to create a better life for themselves. And that is still going on."

The Dairy Business Association opposes the legislation that's been criticized by the immigrant community.

"It's not just a question of passing a bill that may not have that much of an impact, but it really does make a difference to us in retaining our current workforce and attracting new employees," Holevoet said.

The dairy industry has pushed hard for immigration law reform that would allow foreign workers to be employed on U.S. farms year-round and could give them a pathway to permanent jobs in whatever industries they choose.

It takes a long time for someone to acquire the skills they need to cover the many tasks done on a dairy farm, according to Niles, who was a veterinarian before he started farming in 2001.

"These jobs can't be learned in six months," he said.

According to a UW study, nearly 90% of Wisconsin's immigrant dairy workers are from Mexico. Some of them have come here from other states, such as Arizona, that have passed laws cracking down on undocumented workers.

A Texas A&M University study showed that if just half of the 57,000 foreign-born workers on dairy farms were to leave, thousands of other people also would lose their jobs from farm closures and the adverse effect on the economy.

The study also found that farms using immigrant labor supply more than three-fifths of the nation's milk.

"Our guys know I am supporting them," Niles said.