The couple runs Darlington Ridge Farms in Wisconsin. They’ve never had to dump milk before, and the practice has been “completely devastating,” said Katie. “It’s very challenging for our family.”

Dumping milk is pretty much what it sounds like: Disposing of milk before it is delivered to processors and turned into dairy products. Recently, farmers like the DiGangis have had to resort to milk dumping because of a precipitous drop in demand from schools, restaurants and other food service providers, which have been mandated to close their doors to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.