A Republican state senator in Idaho said her family\u2019s livelihood is on the line after a united effort from major dairies in the state to cut off business with her husband over her stance on illegal immigration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld said multiple dairies are refusing to work with her husband Tom because of her politics, adding that they have lost 85% of their income in the past month. While the state\u2019s dairy industry says Zuiderveld is \u201canti-ag,\u201d she believes that she is being targeted because of her support for tough-on-illegal immigration policies like those that mandate employers verify the legal status of workers.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m about trying to protect our state from illegal immigration, but they\u2019re always trying to protect their workforce,\u201d she told The Daily Wire. \u201cThey\u2019re basically working with other dairies that will probably be withdrawing from us. So they\u2019re colluding together. So that\u2019s not free market. That\u2019s intimidation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The incident shows how even in red states, Republicans can split over agricultural and immigration enforcement interests. In this case, it appears to be large dairies against Zuiderveld, a member of Idaho\u2019s firebrand Freedom Caucus.<\/p>\n A letter from Zuiderveld\u2019s employer obtained by The Daily Wire shows that multiple dairies, including Millenkamp Cattle, Black Pine Cattle, and Cedar Ridge Dairy requested last month \u201cto no longer work with\u201d her husband.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have been informed that these customers have aligned with others in a coordinated effort to no longer direct business through you,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe concerns raised are tied to your wife\u2019s political role and are not related to the level of service you have provided. While not making judgements on these factors, they are impacting these customers\u2019 willingness to continue doing business with us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The letter added that one dairy even demanded that Tom be fired from the company, which the Zuidervelds have chosen to keep anonymous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne customer indicated they would consider moving their business away from [redacted] if we did not terminate you. While termination is not something we are considering, it does underscore the seriousness of the situation,\u201d the letter said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Daily Wire reached out to Millenkamp Cattle and Black Pine Cattle for comment, which falls under the same ownership. An employee for Cedar Ridge Dairy who answered a phone call said he was not authorized to talk to the press and hung up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur business has always been in the dairy industry,\u201d Zuiderveld told The Daily Wire. \u201cThey\u2019ve always known what our politics are, but just recently they wrote a letter saying that they didn\u2019t like my politics, and that they wanted our company basically to fire my husband, which they didn\u2019t do because we\u2019re independent sales reps.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Zuiderveld said that her Senate district, which encompasses the Magic Valley heavy agricultural area of south central Idaho, has more dairies than any other district. <\/span>A fourth dairy, Riverbend Dairy, stopped doing business with them on Monday, Zuiderveld said. The Daily Wire reached out to a phone number listed for the dairy, but did not hear back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the dairies did not respond to requests for comment, Rick Naerebout, the CEO of the Idaho Dairymen\u2019s Association, chalked up the issue to \u201cfree-market capitalism\u201d in an interview<\/a> with The Idaho Statesman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He accused the Zuidervelds of being \u201canti-ag\u201d and claimed that \u201cnot all Idaho Republicans are created equal.\u201d He pointed to Zuiderveld\u2019s opposition to $30 million in taxpayer dollars for water infrastructure and vote over funding to target an invasive mussel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Zuiderveld said that those issues were just a distraction from the issues of illegal immigration. She said that she opposed the water funding because there was not significant accountability for the dollars and said she was skeptical of the environmental claims about the mussel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re trying to distract,\u201d she told The Daily Wire. \u201cThe main reason is the illegal immigration issue \u2014 90% of their workforce is what they call foreign-born, and I would have to say, probably 70% if not more of it is illegal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2026\/04\/MixCollage-15-Apr-2026-04-09-PM-9134-scaled.jpg\")
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