Like many of their fellow dairy farmers, Rodney and Dorothy Elliott, owners of Drumgoon Dairy, grapple with securing reliable labor. Nestled in the small town of Lake Norden, S.D., their labor headaches intensified this past spring when their 6,500-cow dairy operation experienced a federal Department of Homeland Security audit that led to the immediate termination of 38 employees. The Elliotts were left with 16 workers.
“We didn’t just lose employees — we lost years of experience, skills, knowledge and a team culture that we had built over the past 10 years or more,” Dorothy says.
The audit findings revealed several workers had inaccurate, outdated or incomplete documentation regarding their U.S. citizenship status or work permits. For the Elliotts, the raid brought to light a critical issue that many farms and ag businesses face today: The complexities of immigration policy impact workforce availability.
The Elliotts fear for the future, not only for their own dairy, but for the industry at large. Immigrant workers are critical to dairy operations, representing over half of all dairy farm labor and contributing to 79% of the U.S. milk supply, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.
“Basically, we’ve turned off the tap, but we’ve done nothing to create a solution to find employees for the dairy industry,” Dorothy says.
The urgency for immigration reform is exacerbated by the fact Americans are typically unwilling to undertake these demanding jobs, says Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association.
“This is bigger than just a dairy issue, this is a feeding America issue, which is national security. Roughly half of all on-farm labor in America is unauthorized. We cannot feed ourselves as a country without these workers,” Naerebout says. “One of the lessons we learned from WWII is that a country that cannot feed itself without imports is at greater risk from their enemies.”
A Sustainable Future Requires a Sustainable Workforce
The Elliotts’ journey began in northern Ireland, where they managed a small dairy farm restricted by stringent government regulations. Frustrated by the limitations and lured by an enticing marketing campaign from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, the family took a leap of faith. They left Ireland, aspiring to transform their modest 140-head operation into a modern, sustainable dairy farm.
Their vision extended beyond business growth — they also set their sights on building an operation that offered future generations a chance to return to farming.
“We’ve achieved our goals that we set out for ourselves: Build a dairy, milk cows and grow the dairy industry in South Dakota,” Dorothy says. “Is it a sustainable goal if there’s nobody to work on these dairies? No. All the time, money, effort, investment and hard work that has gone into it will be null and void if there isn’t a workforce.”
With firsthand experience, Elliott empathizes with her workforce, many of whom are Hispanic immigrants. Elliott gained citizenship shortly after relocating to the U.S., and her husband followed suit, becoming a citizen eight years after they moved.
“We’re facing a reality where all our employees are doing is working. They’re filling positions that are, at present, not being claimed by American workers,” Dorothy reflects.
Her statement sheds light on the essential roles immigrant laborers play across the agricultural landscape, highlighting the gap between workforce demands and available labor supply.
“I want people to understand that dairy farms don’t choose to hire undocumented workers. We all have to hire following state and federal guidelines,” Dorothy says. “Everyone who was hired on our farm had to have a state or federally issued ID card and a Social Security number. Some of these employees had been working without any flags being raised for over 10 years. They were paying all the state and federal taxes we are required to collect.”
Automation Still Requires Human Touch
Despite adversity, the Elliotts push forward. Nearby farms offered temporary assistance following the raid, and they continue to heavily invest in both local and international workforce recruitment. Although automation seemed a promising alternative at one point, the prohibitive costs and disappointing results led to the sale of some equipment.
Drumgoon Dairy installed 20 robots in 2020. They hoped to recruit students and graduates from Lake Area Technical College’s robotics program to maintain the equipment. They’ve advertised maintenance positions, but the response has been disheartening. As of now, “no one,” according to Dorothy, has stepped forward to fill these roles.
Given the high costs associated with running and servicing the robots, the family decided to remove them.
A National Security Crisis
Drumgoon Dairy’s challenges are not isolated. Since President Trump’s crackdown on immigration started a year ago, ICE Raids have happened all across the U.S. While numbers specific to the agriculture industry aren’t available, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the number of people in immigration detention in the U.S. hit an all-time high as of Dec. 14, 2025, at 68,400 people.
It’s been nine months since the ICE raid at Drumgoon Dairy. While the Elliotts now have a full workforce, they’re not operating with the same level of experience, skills and knowledge.
“I feel that the Republican Party has run on this promise of immigration reform and encouraging new businesses to come and set up businesses in the U.S.,” she says. “Since we started dairy farming in 2006, the only people coming to work on dairy farms have been from the Hispanic community. I now see local construction businesses, factories, landscaping businesses and other ag businesses all using Hispanic workers. Where is the reform? What has been done to facilitate a sustainable workforce?”
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