Thread by @AustinFrerick

Check this out. I love maps. And I'm in the midst of dairy research so this is a thread that combines both.

Here's a map of dairy operations in Iowa (map.counterglow.org). Bigger industry trends can be seen by analyzing this map. #agtwitter

Most of the operations in NE Iowa (and the random ones around the state) are traditional dairy farms. Why? That area is hilly (known as the driftless region) so row cropping is less common.

Here's the thing. These traditional farms are going broke left and right.

These farms are being replaced by corporate/industrial dairy operations in NW Iowa that are popping up.

Here's the dirty secret: Most of the work is done by undocumented workers.

Famously, Rep. Devin Nunes's family moved their industrial dairy operation to this region a few years back. esquire.com/news-politics/…

There are still some family dairy operations, in large part, because of the volume bought by the nearby ice cream company Blue Bunny.

You can see a family operation right next to the industrial operation pictured above. But their days are numbered.

Finally, I found these clusters fascinating because both are home to nationally famous family dairy farm brands: Praire Breeze and Kalona.

These trends in Iowa reflect a bigger trend of (1) the collapse of the middle-class dairy farm replaced by corporate farms, (2) the bifurcating food system: fancy dairy for some, industrial exploitive meh dairy for most, (3) shift of dairy production to the SW/W.

Here's the thing. We've known that this has been going on for more than a decade. But no action and that's where Big wins. Its goal is to buy time and drive out the family operations.

Heck, the Mollie Tibbetts news yesterday was connected to dairy. The killer worked on an industrial dairy farm.

Also a story in the WSJ today on dairy by @mcjomcg -->> We're basically inbreeding them way too much:

"So, while there are roughly 9 million Holsteins in the U.S., the breed’s effective population—a measure of genetic diversity—is just 43." wsj.com/articles/the-d…