Overnight Exodus: How An ICE Raid Cut This Dairy’s Workforce By More Than Half
- ZISK
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
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The audit findings revealed several workers had inaccurate, outdated or incomplete documentation regarding their U.S. citizenship status or work permits.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.
By Karen Bohnert
January 21, 2026 11:57 AM
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