2018 was the worst year the dairy industry has ever been through

fter years of low milk prices, about 75 dairy farms closed across Vermont in 2018. Harold Howrigan of Fairfield, Vermont, says the past year set a new low for dairy farmers in the state. And this year isn’t looking any better. In fact, dairy farmers say it’s looking worse.President Donald Trump’s tariff actions and the resulting trade war shut off access to foreign markets for U.S. dairy farmers. The U.S. Dairy Export Council, an organization funded almost entirely by dairy farmers, has worked for decades developing those same markets around the world for their dairy producers.“Those markets were taken away with the stroke of a pen,” Howrigan said, referring to Trump’s move in July that imposed billion of dollars of tariffs on Chinese goods and prompted China to impose retaliatory tariffs of its own. The trade war then expanded to other countries like Canada and Mexico.