Wisconsin's milk dumped in sewage system; dairy industry concerned

Truckloads of fresh milk from farms are being disposed of in Wisconsin's sewage system.

"This is a crisis. I mean, dairy is Wisconsin’s single largest agricultural endeavor," said Peter Hardin, ‘The Milkweed’ editor and publisher. "The industry has been sort of punched in the nose and stunned."

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) confirms truckloads of milk from dairy farms have recently been sent through the sewage system after being treated at a waste disposal services company.

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The company, Earth Environmental, tells FOX6 this is the first year they've done this. Dumping the milk is used as a 'last resort' when there's nowhere else for the milk to go.

"Of course, it's unfortunate," said John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. "This is perfectly good milk."

Nearly 90% of Wisconsin's milk is made into cheese. Umhoefer said milk being disposed of down the drain shows the dairy industry is off balance.

"It's not common in the upper Midwest at all," said Umhoefer. "The last time this happened was a little bit at the beginning of the pandemic, and before that, it was almost unheard of."

"It's enough to gag a maggot," Hardin said.

Hardin, who is behind the monthly dairy industry marketing report 'The Milkweed', said lower demand for fluid milk and mozzarella are major factors driving this, along with components like a lack of cold storage facilities for cheese in Wisconsin.

Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility

"You add them up, the declined demand factors," Hardin said. "We're talking 45 to 50 trailer loads a day, 6,000 to 7,000 gallons each, and there is no home for that milk."

Those issues spill over to Wisconsin farmers, who Hardin said will likely be selling less milk in response.

"The problem with that is with milk prices 40% lower than they were a year ago.  Farmers' cash flow gets squeezed," said Hardin.

Hardin said short-term solutions for farmers include sending more dairy cows to slaughter.

Neither MMSD nor the waste treatment company were able to tell us how many truckloads of milk have had to be dumped recently. FOX6 is still working to get these answers.

"We do believe this will come to an end swiftly, but right now we are in an imbalance," Umhoefer said. "It’s a shame."