Trump Supporter Says She Cannot Find Farm Workers After Backing Deportations, Telling $20-An-Hour Applicant 'Get Bent'

A Wisconsin dairy farmer says she is working 80-hour weeks with no help in sight, milking 300 cows while struggling to find enough staff after months of an unfilled 'Help Wanted' sign.

Abby Swan, who farms in the central Wisconsin town of Westfield, has become the centre of a fierce online argument after describing her situation in a series of TikTok videos.

Swan told the local outlet Spectrum News that 'this summer, it's just gotten really bad', citing a shortage of labour alongside rising costs for seed, fertiliser and diesel. The clip has since spread across Threads, X and Facebook, drawing both sympathy and sharp political criticism.

Labour Shortage Deepens on Wisconsin Farm

Swan told Spectrum News she cannot find staff to help milk her herd twice daily, a task that must be carried out regularly. She said her only consistent help in recent months has come from local high school and college students, several of whom are due back at school within weeks.

Spectrum News reported that Swan could not find labour to help milk her 300 cows. Rising input costs have compounded the labour gap.

Jeff Ditzenberger, founder and president of the farmer support non-profit TUGS, told Spectrum News that the average cost of producing milk is roughly $20–21 per hundredweight, while farmers are currently receiving around $16.50. 'There's just this sense of despair,' he said, adding that he now speaks with 30 to 50 farmers a week.

A Crisis Line Call, Not a Political Statement

Swan disclosed on TikTok that she had recently called 988, the US 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, saying she was 'not suicidal' but needed to talk to someone about her stress.

'While the lady was very nice, wanted to help me, there was really nothing for her to do,' Swan said, adding that a follow-up service for people in mental health distress would help.

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Spectrum News that lifeline callers are 'significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful' after speaking with a counsellor.

Christy Updike of the Farmer Angel Network, which connects farmers with resources, said her group distributed more direct farm aid in the first quarter of 2026 alone than in all of 2025.

Backlash Online Turns Farm Struggle Into Flashpoint

After Swan's videos circulated, commenters pointed to her previous public support for President Donald Trump and accused her of facing the consequences of policies she had backed.

Swan responded with a further TikTok video, saying she could not believe the 'hate' she was receiving, which she said largely consisted of people asking about her voting record.

'I would never ever vote for a Democrat, liberal, socialist, communist ever in my life if this is the way I would ever be treated,' she said. She has since made her TikTok account private.

It is worth noting that, in her public remarks, Swan has not herself attributed her staffing shortage to immigration enforcement specifically. Her public comments have focused on the difficulty of finding local workers rather than any named federal policy.

A Wider Crisis in US Agriculture

Swan's situation echoes a labour strain playing out nationally. According to the Economic Policy Institute, there are roughly 2.4 million farmworkers in the United States, although the figure is based on Census of Agriculture data and is not an exact count of unique workers.

The US Department of Agriculture has estimated that about 42% of crop farmworkers do not have legal status, while NPR reported that dairy farms face particular labour challenges because they require year-round workers and cannot use H-2A visas.

Kim Skellie, vice president of the New York Farm Bureau, told NPR that immigration enforcement had put 'a lot of dairy farm employees on edge', adding: 'It's been a challenge with the current goings on with deportations.'

President Trump made similar comments in June 2025, saying farmers could not simply have all their workers taken away and sent back. The comments came after federal immigration officials targeted farms and meat-packing plants as part of enforcement operations.

Meanwhile, Congress has yet to enact a full replacement for the 2018 Farm Bill, which was extended through 30 September 2026. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 also made changes and provided additional funding for some Farm Bill programmes.

For now, Swan says she is simply trying to keep her farm running. 'I hope we can keep it,' she told Spectrum News. 'But what do you do when you don't have any employees, and your milk price is garbage?'

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, or via live chat at 988lifeline.org.