Many dairy farmers, even in Wisconsin, depend upon immigrant labour to run their operations, according to a veterinarian in Waupun, Wis. Dr. Al Mertens stepped into a contentious and divisive debate over how to deal with undocumented workers in a guest column that appeared in the The (Fond du Lac) Reporter, in early January. Mertens wrote: “Dairy managers would like to avoid the language barriers and constant worries about immigration issues. They have enough problems managing their farms without adding more problems. But the truth is they can’t find local Americans who want to fill the positions and show up to work . . .
