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Fighting to Stay Alive: Farming Struggles in the Midwest

14 images Created 23 Sep 2023

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  • BLACK RIVER FALLS, WIS. – OCT. 1, 2020: Randy Messelt, 54, a fourth-generation farmer whose farm has been in the family since the 1880s, at home in Black River Falls, Wis. Oct. 1, 2020. Randy's son, Timothy, was supposed to inherit the farm, but died by suicide as the farm was struggling and he was going through a breakup. Randy voted for Trump in 2016, but is undecided on who he will vote for this November. (Photo by Lauren Justice for The Washington Post)
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  • BLACK RIVER FALLS, WIS. – OCT. 1, 2020: Bobbi Blang, 53, partner of Randy Messelt, 54, holds up a photo from the turn of the century. The photo shows what the farm used to look like. Messelt is a fourth-generation farmer whose farm has been in the family since the 1880s, at home in Black River Falls, Wis. Oct. 1, 2020. Randy's son, Timothy, was supposed to inherit the farm, but died by suicide as the farm was struggling and he was going through a breakup. Randy voted for Trump in 2016, but is undecided on who he will vote for this November. (Photo by Lauren Justice for The Washington Post)
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  • PULASKI, WIS. – DEC. 20, 2019: An entire herd is auctioned off at the farm of David and Jaime Owen in Pulaski, Wis. Dec. 20, 2019. The family received mental health vouchers and David says he has felt suicidal because of how hard it is stay afloat. A week before the auction, David had a heart attack. The family is selling their herd to relieve financial stress, not out of a desire to leave the dairy industry. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • MADISON, WIS. - OCT. 16, 2018: Chuck Wagner, a Kewaunee County resident, at his home in Luxemburg, Wis. Oct. 16, 2018. Wagner's water has been contaminated by Lee Kinnard's farm. He built a second well after the first was contaminated, and it to became contaminated.<br />
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CREDIT: Lauren Justice for The Wall Street Journal<br />
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WATER
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  • WISCONSIN DELLS, WIS. – JUNE 5, 2020: Sarah Lloyd at her family farm in the Wisconsin Dells, Wis. June 5, 2020. Lloyd, a dairy farmer, voted against Trump and says her farm is "hemorrhaging money" due to the coronavirus fallout. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • PULASKI, WIS. – DEC. 20, 2019: Family memories, including photos of their cattle, is seen in David Owen's office during the auction. An entire herd is auctioned off at the farm of David and Jaime Owen in Pulaski, Wis. Dec. 20, 2019. The family received mental health vouchers and David says he has felt suicidal because of how hard it is stay afloat. A week before the auction, David had a heart attack. The family is selling their herd to relieve financial stress, not out of a desire to leave the dairy industry. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • PULASKI, WIS. – DEC. 20, 2019: David Owen, 45, is auctioning off his entire herd at his family's farm in Pulaski, Wis. Dec. 20, 2019. The family received mental health vouchers and David says he has felt suicidal because of how hard it is stay afloat. A week before the auction, David had a heart attack. The family is selling their herd to relieve financial stress, not out of a desire to leave the dairy industry. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • PULASKI, WIS. – DEC. 20, 2019: Amber Owen, 21, has a tattoo for Karmen, the mother of multiple calfs, and Amber's favorite show cow. An entire herd is auctioned off at the farm of David and Jaime Owen in Pulaski, Wis. Dec. 20, 2019. The family received mental health vouchers and David says he has felt suicidal because of how hard it is stay afloat. A week before the auction, David had a heart attack. The family is selling their herd to relieve financial stress, not out of a desire to leave the dairy industry. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
    12-20-19FarmAuction2230.jpg
  • MADISON, WIS. - OCT. 16, 2018: Cows in the milking parlor at Lee Kinnard's dairy farm in Casco, Wis. Oct. 16, 2018. <br />
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CREDIT: Lauren Justice for The Wall Street Journal<br />
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WATER
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  • PULASKI, WIS. – DEC. 20, 2019: People begin to disperse as the auction comes to a close. An entire herd is auctioned off at the farm of David and Jaime Owen in Pulaski, Wis. Dec. 20, 2019. The family received mental health vouchers and David says he has felt suicidal because of how hard it is stay afloat. A week before the auction, David had a heart attack. The family is selling their herd to relieve financial stress, not out of a desire to leave the dairy industry. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • MADISON, WIS. – DEC. 12, 2019: Frank Friar, an employee of The Wisconsin Farm Center, talks with a farmer on the phone about his business Dec. 12, 2019 in Madison, Wis. Friar has had many difficult conversations with farmers about their future in farming and how the potential loss of their farm makes them feel suicidal. The Wisconsin Farm Center provides free one-on-one assistance to Wisconsin farmers through start-up, growth, change, generational succession, and retirement. They have been receiving mental health related calls from farmers who are feeling suicidal because of the declining state of their family businesses. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • WISCONSIN DELLS, WIS. – JUNE 5, 2020: Nels Nelson, 55, loads cattle on Nelson and Sarah Lloyd's dairy farm in the Wisconsin Dells, Wis. June 5, 2020. Lloyd, a dairy farmer, voted against Trump and says her farm is "hemorrhaging money" due to the coronavirus fallout. Lauren Justice for The New York Times
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  • MADISON, WIS. - OCT. 16, 2018: Lee Kinnard, at his dairy farm in Casco, Wis. Oct. 16, 2018. Manure spreading, a practice used by Kinnard Farms, has contaminated the well water of neighbors. <br />
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CREDIT: Lauren Justice for The Wall Street Journal<br />
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WATER
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  • MADISON, WIS. - OCT. 16, 2018: Erika Balza, a Kewaunee County resident, at her home in Luxemburg, Wis. Oct. 16, 2018. Balza's water has been contaminated by nearby farms. She can see six farms from her bedroom window at home.<br />
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CREDIT: Lauren Justice for The Wall Street Journal<br />
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WATER
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