Hoard's Dairyman:
Dairy will always lead through unity
November 20, 2025
By Randy Mooney, NMPF Chairman 2008-2025
Editor’s note: This is an edited transcript of the author’s remarks at the National Milk Producers Federation’s annual meeting Nov. 11 in Arlington, Texas.
I’ve been part of National Milk for more than two decades, and I’m in awe with how this industry has grown and evolved while never losing sight of who we serve: the dairy farmers. As many of you know, this is my last annual meeting as chairman. And while I’ll continue to serve on the board, this moment marks a meaningful transition.
I’m proud to pass the baton to Brian Rexing, a leader who carries forward the spirit of dedication, vision, and integrity that defines national milk in our entire industry. I’ve known Brian for a long time, and he always gets the job done.
Progress doesn’t happen overnight, and I’ve seen firsthand the grit and work it takes to move something forward. It all happens when people come together. We roll up our sleeves and stand shoulder to shoulder, stay rooted in shared values, and keep the course. We’ve done just that, working as one as we’ve built something we should be very, very proud of.
We’ve built stronger foundations for dairy farmers across the country by ensuring that each and every day, farmers, no matter the size of their operation or where they call home, have the tools, the support, and the representation they need to succeed on their operation for generations to come. We’ve moved the industry forward on major policy fronts and together, we’ve made our collective voice stronger in Washington.
We’ve improved coordination across the industry, and we continue investing in programs that secure markets for U.S. milk and dairy products, capturing bipartisan wins along the way. We’ve created and continued to evolve the FARM program. Together, we’ve developed and adopted a program that our customers and our consumers recognize, a program that nearly 100% of farmers in the country belong to. We’ve developed risk management tools starting out in 2009 that have evolved into DMC and DRP, which recognizes different sizes of farms. Now, those aren’t perfect, but they are risk management tools that we didn’t have in the past.
On taxes, we’ve worked to make certain that our co-ops and our farmers benefited from the tax breaks in the One Big Beautiful Bill. This includes Section 199 and estate tax issues that allow us to pass the farm on to the next generation. We’ve advocated in farm bills for policies that strengthen farms, families, and growing children. On nutrition, we’ve worked on the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, expanding healthy fluid milk incentive programs, child nutrition acts, and school meals. And by defending dairy’s name against plant-based beverages, we’ve driven home the message of dairy’s nutritional superiority. We took three years updating the Federal Milk Marketing Order program into a system that reflects today’s market’s realities.
On trade policy, we’ve worked on bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations and dairy export incentive programs. We’re currently working with the administration on tariffs and trade policies. We fought to protect dairy’s rightful place in the American diet through the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, reminding policy makers that 90% of the people in this country don’t get enough dairy. On our workforce — our labor — we’ve tackled one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges: advocating for the H-2A reform recommendations through the Ag Labor Working Group and working to ensure dairy has access to a reliable year-round workforce.
At National Milk, that’s the number one issue to solve right now. I applaud the administration for securing the border, but we also need immigration reform so we can have ag labor on our farms. We need to be specific about what we want. So, you’re going to see National Milk setting up a task force of some of the leaders in this room to figure that out. Then, we’re going to have to be nimble. As it goes through Congress, things change. We’re going to have to be able to change and adapt and to make sure that we fit into whatever legislation that gets passed.
And we remain resilient throughout all of this, because that’s the dairy community. We show up for each other. We work to make sure funds are available to help dairy farmers who have been devastated by natural disasters. And one thing stands clear. When we work together, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish. When we work as one, when we speak with one voice, when we lead with unity and purpose, there’s almost nothing that we can’t do.
The challenges ahead are real, from labor to climate pressures, to market volatility and changing consumer expectations, but our momentum is real as well. We have strong leadership in place. We have dedicated farmer leaders who are ready to step up, and we have a legacy of resilience, innovation, and integrity to build upon.
To the farmers in the room, thank you. You are the heart of this organization. You’re the ones who’ve shown what’s possible when we lead with unity and purpose, when resiliency is alive and at the core of who we are as the dairy farmers. You’ve made me proud to serve on your behalf in this position, and I’m deeply optimistic about what’s to come. Thank you very much.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Nov. 20, 2025.
