Hoard's Dairyman:
What’s next for dairy in Washington?
February 16, 2026
By Maria Brockamp, Senior Manager, Government Relations
The dairy industry experienced an unprecedented start to 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Coming hot out of the gate was dairy’s prominence in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). Released every five years, the DGAs outline what is included in a healthy diet and inform the nutrition standards for federal nutrition programs including school meals. Whole milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter icons adorned the new inverted food pyramid encouraging Americans to “eat real food.”
Not only was full-fat dairy lauded in the DGAs, but whole milk specifically had its own moment shortly after the new year when President Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act into law, allowing schools to include whole and 2% milk on their lunch trays.
Finally, enrollment for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program opened in January, giving producers until Feb. 26 to enroll for the coming year. This year’s DMC includes provisions that the National Milk Producers Federation advocated to be included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer, including a production history update and a six-year discounted coverage option.
With so many wins so early in 2026, it might seem like a good time for National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) to simply claim victory and celebrate for the rest of the year. But there is still much work to be done, and that work takes time. The dairy wins we’ve had so far in 2026 were years in the making — work on the 2025 DGAs began in 2021, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act was first introduced in 2019, and advocacy for DMC updates began in 2023 — and NMPF is eager to carry the momentum dairy has right now in Washington.
First, fostering the early 2026 wins to fruition remains a top priority this year. A swift and all-encompassing rulemaking to implement the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids law is crucial to ensuring that full and reduced fat milk offerings return to school menus for the 2026-27 school year. A continued science-based, yet practical approach to implementing the DGAs into the school meal program is crucial to ensuring that all students are benefiting from the 13 essential nutrients that dairy provides. Widespread information outlining the updates and the signup deadline for the DMC program and continued advocacy for improvements to complementary risk management programs, like Dairy Revenue Protection, are crucial for helping dairy farmers navigate turbulent times.
It’s no secret that workforce challenges continue to plague the dairy industry. NMPF advocates for the stabilization of the current, highly skilled workforce and the opportunity for dairy farmers to access a future workforce through a viable year-round guestworker program. With the border secure, there is no time better than the present to tackle these longstanding workforce issues, and NMPF is securing a seat at the table so that dairy farmers’ needs are heard.
Finally, supplementing the funding included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with updated policy provisions in a full five-year farm bill is essential to the success of dairy farms. Uncertain times call for comprehensive bipartisan action to spark certainty for those that feed the world. That action is a long overdue farm bill.
Dairy farmers are facing some big hurdles — low fat prices, ongoing workforce challenges, and intense animal disease protocols, just to name a few — but rest assured, there are dairy voices in Washington addressing these issues and more. The priorities outlined here are the tip of the iceberg for how NMPF plans to advocate for dairy farmers and their cooperatives this year.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Feb. 16, 2026.
