What life looks like coming out of COVID-19 for the Wisconsin dairy farmer The Wisconsin dairy farmer has faced down two crises in the past few years: a surplus of product that has led to falling prices, and the pandemic. and last updated 2021-06-29 19:31:24-04 THORP, Wis. â The Wisconsin dairy farmer has faced down two crises in the past few years: a surplus of product that has led to falling prices, and the pandemic. It has caused farms across Wisconsin to close up at a rate of nearly two per day in the last year. Marieke Penterman of Penterman Farm has survived both, but she says just barely.