Ruth Conniff’s Milked is an enlightening account of what it takes to make Wisconsin’s dairy industry function, exploring the relationship between the farmers and the undocumented workers on their farms. Most of the undocumented people featured in this book have no interest in staying in the US- they are working on dairy farms to send money back, to build houses, to actually make money to be able to retire. Unable to go back and forth easily, they spend years or decades working before they can go back to their country. The farmers are split between Biden and Trump voters, both equally convinced that each president would do what it takes to fix the immigration system for their workers.

One issue I have with this book is that the stories feel a little disjointed, and the book as a whole feels a bit repetitive because of it. I also think the book does not really consider the working conditions - the workers are making very little per hour and working very grueling hours.

Thanks to The New Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The typical U.S. dairy cow never grazes in a field at all. Instead, she lives in a huge building with a concrete floor, where she munches on a carefully monitored diet of grain and supplements.”

One would think, if they’d stopped reading at this point, that a dairy farmer in the USA has a fairly easy job. However, Conniff continues to explain that “dairy farmworkers labor around the clock, pushing groups of cows into the milking parlor in shifts that run continuously from morning to night” Now that readers get a sense of the labour intensive work, the author seeks to inform us about the identity of these tireless and dedicated workers.

They’re NOT American.

Twenty years ago, the dairy farm owners in Wisconsin started hiring Mexican workers as the pressure to increase their operations to compete with giant dairy farms intensified. The feeding, herding cows to milk, keeping equipment in working order, shoveling manure and tending the animals is not only done 365 days a year, it’s also done by 80% Mexican labour. What the average person doesn’t realize is that because these workers aren’t seasonal workers, they can’t get a visa. This means that the people involved in producing America’s milk are illegal workers!

Conniff was curious about the relationship between the workers and farmers and was prompted to uncover the reason these workers came to Wisconsin and why they keep returning. What resulted was a fascinating examination into people on both sides of the border, who are continually pitted against each other, yet rely on resilience and determination to survive, and in some case, thrive, in the direst of circumstances. Living in Mexico for a year gave the author perspective and allowed her to see the commonalities between both groups of people as well as the politics that separate them.

At times over my head with regards to the American politics, I was still very much absorbed in this book and appreciated the access to an early copy. Easy to understand and quick to read, this collection pulled at my heartstrings and reinforced the need for a greater cross-cultural understanding before progress can be measured. Interestingly enough, the families on both sides of the USA/Mexico border are no different - both are driven to succeed, regardless of sacrifice. The collection of stories about these hardworking people and their circumstances who are united by pressure and economic forces yet divided by politics, is an informative and worthwhile read.

I was gifted this advance copy by Ruth Conniff, The New Press, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.