Author: Rachel Ravencraft

FARM Program Breaks Down Biosecurity Planning

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The National Dairy FARM Program equipped farmers with the knowledge and resources to prepare for potential outbreaks during its session, “Where to Start: Building an Enhanced Biosecurity Plan” presented March 18 at the Central Plains Dairy Expo in Sioux Falls, SD.

FARM Biosecurity lead Miquela Hanselman, in partnership with Preventalytics owner Dr. Danelle Bickett-Weddle, instructed producers on how to identify risks specific to their herd.

FARM Biosecurity can help producers take the first steps towards developing an enhanced biosecurity plan:

  • Step one: Address movement risks, such as animals, supply deliveries and personnel.
  • Step two: Complete a self-assessment that includes questions regarding animal health and disease monitoring, animal movements and contacts, vehicles and equipment, personnel and establishing a line of separation. This delineates a point of entry on farms and can help control on-farm movements. Each of these areas corresponds to the enhanced biosecurity plan.
  • Step three: Create a daily biosecurity plan specific to your operation and gather essential information such as Premises IDs and emergency contacts for the farm.

FARM also connected with the broader dairy community throughout the week, sharing free resources and talking to consumers about the great work that happens on dairy farms daily.

The FARM Program remains at the forefront of on-farm social responsibility initiatives, advancing U.S. dairy’s mission of continuous improvement through industry outreach and education.

March-to-Date NEXT-Assisted Export Sales Surpass 30 Million Pounds

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NEXT member cooperatives secured 77 contracts in March with one week still outstanding for the month due to publication timing. These contracts added 30.4 million pounds of product in NEXT-assisted sales in 2026. These products will go to customers in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, Middle East-North Africa, Eurasia, South America, Central America and the Caribbean and will be shipped from March through October.

Exporting dairy products is critical to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country. Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting, moving products into world markets is essential. NEXT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages.

The referenced amounts of dairy products reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. NEXT will pay export assistance to bidders only when export and delivery of product is verified by submission of required documentation.

 

Getting Word Out Helps Boost DMC Numbers

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

After signup rates were lagging previous years for the Dairy Margin Coverage Program, a full-court communications press from NMPF helped push enrollment levels above year-ago levels, with an even higher percentage of dairy farmers participating as a proportion of U.S. dairy operations.

Participation in USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage program rose to 13,349 this year, up from 12,989 in 2025. Currently, 57 percent of dairy farms are enrolled, compared to 53 percent the previous year.

The gain came after a comprehensive NMPF effort to get the word out, which included staff appearances on RFD-TV, distributed news articles via the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, social media, NMPF’s CEO’s Corner column and President’s Report from Gregg Doud, member alerts and news releases.

This growth highlights that farmers continue to recognize the importance of this safety net and benefit from its support. Congress improved DMC as part of farm-support provisions in last year’s budget reconciliation bill, with an updated production history and an increase in the amount of milk covered under the program.

As that effort was under way, the February margin under USDA’s Margin Coverage Program was generating another month of payments, with a reported margin for the month of $8.46/cwt, up $0.65/cwt from the month before. Farmers who elected coverage at the maximum $9.50/cwt level received a payment of $1.04/cwt for the month.

An $0.80/cwt increase in the all-milk price from January drove the higher margin, which was tempered by $0.15/cwt gain in the February DMC feed cost formula, due primarily to a higher soybean meal price.

The DMC Decision Tool on the USDA website projected at the end of March that February’s payment might be the year’s last, other than a possible small one for March. USDA expected margins to average $10.61/cwt for the year.

NMPF Opens Doors for Dairy in Ecuador Trade Deal

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF’s sustained engagement with the U.S. government continues to pay off for American dairy farmers, with a new U.S.-Ecuador reciprocal trade agreement, signed March 13, representing the latest in a string of hard-fought market access wins.

The new deal would improve export opportunities for U.S. dairy products in a market long plagued by restrictive tariffs and nontariff trade barriers and would deliver on several dairy priorities. It would:

  • Eliminate tariffs on a range of U.S. dairy products;
  • Overhaul Ecuador’s burdensome import licensing system; and
  • Recognize U.S. regulatory oversight, including dropping facility listing requirements and accepting certificates from American regulatory authorities.

For cheese producers specifically, the deal protects 40 common cheese names including “parmesan,” blocking foreign competitors from monopolizing terms that U.S. producers depend on.

“With an unprecedented investment in U.S. dairy manufacturing capacity, deals like this are vital to making it easier for international buyers to source the great products our dairy companies are making,” NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud said.

The Ecuador deal is the tenth agreement secured by the Administration that includes new market access for U.S. dairy products. NMPF and USDEC remain committed to working with USTR to support implementation and build on this momentum.

U.S. Dairy Highlights USMCA Review Priorities

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF’s Tony Rice joined a March 17 briefing hosted by the Congressional Agriculture Trade Caucus to emphasize the importance of the North American market for dairy producers and underscore the need to use the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) review process to resolve longstanding trade barriers that limit American dairy-farmer access to key North American markets.

“The USMCA Joint Review presents an opportunity for the United States to strengthen the agreement and ensure Mexico and Canada live up to their commitments,” Rice said. “Preserving tariff-free access to Mexico is paramount, while measures to address Canada’s failure to comply with its dairy obligations and Mexico’s delayed implementation of its common name provisions are necessary for U.S. dairy producers receive the full benefit of the agreement.”

Canada has continued to manipulate its tariff-rate quota administration in ways that effectively shut out U.S. dairy, while also circumventing its USMCA disciplines on dairy protein exports. These violations undermine the market access that USMCA was designed to deliver.

Mexico, meanwhile, also as implementation gaps that require attention during the review even as it remains a positive trading partner. Specifically, Mexico still needs to incorporate certain USMCA common name commitments, which protect the ability of American producers to market their products like “feta,” into its regulatory structures and take clearer steps to ensure that new restrictions are not imposed on U.S. cheese exports.

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council have been raising these concerns with members of Congress and the Administration throughout the lead-up to renewal, and the Agriculture Trade Caucus has become an important venue for that work. The bipartisan caucus, which NMPF and USDEC helped launch in January 2024, regularly convenes briefings on challenges facing agricultural exporters and Congress’ role in leveling the playing field.

NMPF and USDEC will continue to push to strengthen the agreement and ensure that the promises made to U.S. dairy farmers are kept as the three countries meet to discuss the future of the trade pact on July 1.

NMPF Raises Supply Chain Challenges on Multiple Fronts

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF’s Tony Rice took a central role in elevating serious supply chain issues from maritime reform to cargo theft before Congress and the White House in March as disruptions continue to threaten U.S. dairy exports.

Rice, NMPF’s senior director of trade policy, testified March 17 before a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust hearing on ocean supply chain challenges, laying out the stakes for dairy exporters.

“Dairy farmers milk their cows 365 days a year,” Rice said. “For a dairy producer, these supply chain issues are not abstract policy concerns. When export shipments are delayed, cancelled, or become more expensive to move, the disruptions ripple back through the supply chain and ultimately affect farm income.”

The U.S. dairy industry exported $9.6 billion and three million metric tons of product last year, making reliable transportation vital to its economic wellbeing. Yet exporters remain heavily dependent on a handful of foreign-owned ocean carriers. Shipping disruptions ripple back through the supply chain and affect farm income.

Throughout the hearing, Rice relayed the industry’s call for greater investment in domestic shipbuilding capacity, stronger Federal Maritime Commission oversight, and improved transparency from carriers on booking decisions.

Even as supply chain challenges persist, cargo theft of intermodal shipping containers is spiking as well. Rice represented the food and ag industry as part of a coalition of supply chain stakeholders in a March 18 meeting with the National Economic Council at the White House. The group pressed the administration for resources to combat organized criminal networks that break into containers in search of high-value goods, with dairy exports caught in the crossfire.

In parallel, the NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council are working with Congress to advance the bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA), which would give the Department of Homeland Security new tools to track and apprehend offenders.

Members experiencing supply chain issues should contact Tony Rice at trice@nmpf.org.

New World Screwworm Draws Near, NMPF Prepares

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

As spring temperatures rise, the threat of New World screwworm making its way into the United States is also increasing. NMPF is working with agencies and stakeholders to ensure dairy preparedness.

Infestations continue to push north toward the U.S.-Mexico border, with the closest currently active case about 150 miles from Texas; meanwhile, sterile flies are being released in Texas up to 50 miles from the Mexican border to help suppress populations before they can reach American livestock.

NMPF brought several key partners together for a webinar March 16 to share the latest on New World screwworm and what it means for U.S. dairy.

Three experts, Dr. Adis Dijab, associate deputy administrator for APHIS Veterinary Services, Dr. Sonja Swiger, professor and extension entomologist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and Dr. T.R. Lansford III, deputy executive director and assistant state veterinarian at the Texas Animal Health Commission, walked through signs and symptoms of New World screwworm in livestock, the current status of the pest and some practical steps farmers can take to stay ahead of it.

The experts also shared what treatment options are currently available for livestock and gave an overview of potential cattle movement requirements or restrictions in the event of an outbreak in the United States.

USDA and state agencies will take the lead in managing any outbreak. NMPF has provided feedback to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on its emergency response plans for a U.S. screwworm infestation and USDA is taking that feedback into account to incorporate in its next response playbook draft.

During an outbreak, USDA handles movement between states, and individual states can add their own rules for moving livestock within their borders. Farmers can expect that animals will be subject to quarantine and movement restrictions in the areas closest to the infestation, including pre-movement animal health inspection and treatment when appropriate, based on standardized continuity of business New World screwworm animal health certification guidance. Most farmers should still be able to move their animals if they stick to the rules around inspections, treating wounds, paperwork and good biosecurity.

FDA has expanded animal drug treatment options for New World screwworm through Emergency Use Authorizations. Most recently, FDA issued an EUA March 10 for a new topical spray for lactating dairy cows that comes with only a 10-day milk withdrawal time. This is the first drug authorized for use to treat New World screwworm in lactating cattle.

NMPF will continue working with federal and state partners to ensure dairy farmers have the tools and support they need to keep their herds healthy.

NMPF Thwarts Efforts to Ban Flavored Milk in West Virginia Schools

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

Strong advocacy by NMPF and its partners helped prevent the passage of harmful legislation in West Virginia that would have limited students’ access to nutritious dairy products in school meals.

West Virginia’s legislative session concluded March 14 without advancing SB 745, a proposal that would have imposed strict limits on added sugars in school foods. As written, the bill would have effectively removed flavored milk and other dairy options from school menus, a change that raised serious concerns among nutrition experts, dairy farmers, and school meal professionals alike.

NMPF worked closely with the International Dairy Foods Association and other allies to educate lawmakers about the unintended consequences of the proposal. Research and real-world experience show that when flavored milk is removed from schools, students drink less milk overall, reducing their intake of key nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, and potassium.

The stakes extended beyond West Virginia, which has become a focal point for the “Make America Healthy Again” movement; passage of SB 745 could have set a precedent for similar legislation in other states — or even at the federal level.

By stopping the bill, NMPF and its partners helped protect school meal choice, sound nutrition policy, and the role of dairy in supporting children’s health. This outcome ensures that West Virginia students will continue to have access to flavored milk and other dairy foods that play an essential role in healthy diets, while reinforcing the importance of science-based decision-making in nutrition policy.

NMPF Debuts State Issues Digest

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF this week introduced its first-ever State Issues Digest, a new publication designed to strengthen support for dairy farmers at the state level. The digest supports NMPF’s efforts to strengthen collaboration among states, better leverage shared resources and respond more swiftly to emerging challenges.

Distributed monthly to interested members, the newsletter highlights key issues affecting U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the states.

The inaugural edition covers a range of topics, including the growing financial and operational impacts of extended producer responsibility laws on dairy cooperatives and processors. It also examines efforts to remove flavored milk from schools, expand E-Verify requirements for employers, increase raw milk sales and more.

Readers can sign up and update their communication preferences to receive future editions of the digest.

NMPF Secures Key Dairy Wins as House Farm Bill Advances

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The 2026 Farm Bill advanced by the House Agriculture Committee on March 5 includes several NMPF priorities, reflecting the organization’s months of engagement with Chairman GT Thompson, R-PA, and other dairy champions as the bill won wide, bipartisan committee approval.

Among provisions critical to strengthening dairy farmers and their cooperatives, the legislation authorizes long-term dairy product processing cost surveys and extends essential programs such as Dairy Forward Pricing, Dairy Indemnity, and the Dairy Research and Promotion Program. The bill also reinforces voluntary, producer-led conservation efforts, including targeted support for methane-reducing practices.

NMPF secured forward-looking trade provisions in the bill, including a long-term directive for the U.S. government to protect common cheese names like parmesan and feta in trade negotiations, an effort introduced and championed by NMPF. The bill also included an NMPF request to formally move the Food for Peace program to USDA and designate $200 million in annual funding for dairy-based therapeutic foods to support global malnutrition efforts.

Additional victories include strengthened export promotion funding, expanded access to renewable energy programs for farmer-owned cooperatives, broader dairy eligibility in nutrition incentive programs, and continued support for farmer mental health and on-farm safety.

Chairman Thompson is focused on advancing the bill, which President Trump supports, to the House floor in the weeks ahead. The Senate has not yet acted on a companion bill. As the farm bill process moves ahead, NMPF remains focused on building bipartisan momentum to deliver lasting results for America’s dairy farmers.

NMPF Heads West for Board Meeting Tackling Labor, Celebrating Whole Milk

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF’s first March Board of Directors Meeting outside the Beltway brought fresh Arizona air — and innovative ideas — to critical discussions for the future of days March 9–10.

Committee and full-board discussions on labor, economics and animal health highlighted the two-day format of intense discussions and presentations held in Scottsdale. The successful new format both reduced travel burdens and costs for members while providing new opportunities to share staff updates and expertise with dairy leaders.

“We have a great team that’s doing a great job,” said NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud. “We are not letting off of the gas.”

Attendees had much to celebrate in terms of wins over the past few months, including the enactment of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and favorable recognition of dairy’s nutritional benefits in the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Still, critical work remains on contentious topics including agricultural labor, a special focus at the meeting.

Key outcomes and action items from the meeting included:

  • The Board approved the establishment of a Membership Committee to explore affiliate membership qualification, dues and benefits. The committee will present recommendations at the June meeting.
  • The Board approved the development of an Enhanced Livestock Coverage Option with further economic analysis to be presented at the June meeting.
  • NMPF moved toward common member goals on ag labor policy based on discussion with the Immigration Task Force led by Agri-Mark Chairman and executive committee member Cricket Jacquier.
  • Charles Krause of Minnesota and Jennifer Leech of Virginia were welcomed as new board members representing Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.

If any board members or cooperatives need targeted talking points on ag labor or other issues as they engage their elected officials, reach out to Trey Forsyth (tforsyth@nmpf.org) and Maria Brockamp (mbrockamp@nmpf.org).

The next board meeting is set for June 8–10 at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, VA. NMPF will send registration and hotel details in early April. The plan is for board members to attend committee meetings June 8, with the board meeting the next day and Capitol Hill visits the final day. NMPF’s Animal Health and Well-Being Committee is also meeting June 10–11.