Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics How high fuel prices are affecting dairy farmers in a key Wisconsin House district High fuel prices are affecting many people, including some dairy farmers. That's the case in part of Wisconsin where a competitive U.S. House district race could help decide control of Congress. Politics How high fuel prices are affecting dairy farmers in a key Wisconsin House district March 31, 20265:17 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Chuck Quirmbach WI Van Orden Dairy Farmers Listen · 4:03 4:03 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5763980/nx-s1-9711105" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript High fuel prices are affecting many people, including some dairy farmers. That's the case in part of Wisconsin where a competitive U.S. House district race could help decide control of Congress. Sponsor Message
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High fuel prices are affecting many people, including some of the nation's dairy farmers. That is the case in a competitive House district in western Wisconsin, which has a long history of producing milk and cheese. Chuck Quirmbach reports.
CHUCK QUIRMBACH, BYLINE: President Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in his reelection bid two years ago, but Democrats have their sights set on flipping the state's 3rd Congressional District. The expected battle has already prompted Vice President JD Vance to visit twice in the last seven months to support GOP Congressman Derrick Van Orden, including on February 26, at a machine parts factory in Plover. Vance heaped praise on the two-term incumbent.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JD VANCE: Derrick is one of those guys you can trust to always fight for the people who are in this room. He knows exactly where he came from.
QUIRMBACH: Two days later, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. One of the impacts from more than four weeks of war in the Middle East is that fuel prices are sharply higher, not only for conventional gasoline but for the diesel that farmers use to run machinery.
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QUIRMBACH: A tractor hauling a feed wagon brings a mix of animal food called silage. Here at Morningstar Dairy, outside of Onalaska, Wisconsin, owner John Schaller jokes that his roughly 500 cows eat a better balanced diet than people do.
JOHN SCHALLER: As we call it, goulash. Remember eating goulash? We had goulash every day. That's what my cows eat, goulash every day.
QUIRMBACH: Schaller says last year his farm spent $92,000 on diesel fuel. A Wisconsin fuel supplier says the price of the off-road diesel that farmers use is up at least 25% this month. The 67-year-old Schaller, who's been farming here for more than four decades, insists he isn't bothered.
SCHALLER: I'm used to it. The price of fuel goes up and down. The price of commodities go up and down. And so I just kind of ride the waves and just keep on keeping on and do the best job I can do with what I can control.
QUIRMBACH: Schaller concedes his profit may shrink this year, but the longtime Republican says he still plans to vote for Van Orden. Schaller says he believes the GOP remains the party of less government.
SCHALLER: I'm like, just get out of the way and let us farm, and, you know, yeah, we don't need government handouts.
QUIRMBACH: The political sentiment is different an hour north near Osseo, Wisconsin.
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QUIRMBACH: Brad Goplin shifts his tractor into reverse to back up a manure spreader. The 34-year-old is a sixth-generation farmer whose family has milked cows on this property since 1870. Goplin says the higher diesel prices are hitting a lot of local farmers, not only directly but also through surcharges from farm suppliers. Lower revenue of late for the milk his 60 cows produce has also pinched his bottom line.
BRAD GOPLIN: And it doesn't only affect the farmers, but, I mean, it goes down the food chain.
QUIRMBACH: Wisconsin has lost nearly two-thirds of its dairy farms from 20 years ago. Only about 5,000 remain.
GOPLIN: If there's less and less, you know, there's less people going to the hardware store, less people going to the grocery store or supporting the egg businesses.
QUIRMBACH: Goplin says he supports Rebecca Cooke, one of three Democratic candidates running so far in advance of the August 11 primary. The Wisconsin Democratic Party tells NPR that Van Orden's loyalty is to Trump, not dairy farmers who are suffering from spiking fuel prices. And the party charges Van Orden is, quote, "a Benedict Arnold to farmers." A spokesperson for Van Orden points to a number of already passed tax cuts and pending bills he's sponsoring that the Republican says will help dairy farmers.
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QUIRMBACH: For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Osseo, Wisconsin.
(SOUNDBITE OF POST MALONE SONG, "SOCIALITE") Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();