NMPF’s executive vice president Jaime Castaneda explains for listeners of Dairy Radio Now why NMPF asked the Trump Administration to investigate the world trade in milk powders, and, in particular, the impact of Canada’s protectionist practices on U.S. producers. Castaneda and NMPF colleague Will Loux testified this week on the issue.
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Fake butter is a dairy labeling crock
By Christopher Galen, Executive Director, American Butter Institute
Butter continues to be the case study for how real dairy products have been dogged by plant-derived imitators for decades. Where butter is concerned, oleomargarine has been nipping at its heels for nearly 100 years, starting at the dawn of the ultra-processed food era. Margarine use surged after World War II, but in the 21st century, a preference for natural foods and consumer aversion to long ingredient labels has turned the tide, as per capita butter use has grown, while vegetable spreads usage has melted.
But there’s always a new wrinkle to this competition, or, to mix metaphors, old wine in new skins. I’m referring to the Country Crock product made from seed oils (palm and canola, mostly) that doesn’t even meet the legal definition of margarine. Yet its makers have the gall to market this as “dairy free salted butter.” In addition to that highly suspect prominent label description, the Country Crock package includes an image of a traditional red barn associated with dairy farms and employs an image of real butter pats, not their oily impersonators.
This label is a flagrant violation of federal standards of identity, which define butter as a product “made exclusively from milk or cream, or both, with or without common salt, and containing not less than 80% by weight of milkfat.” That’s the clear description of the Code of Federal Regulations, and Congress even passed a Butter Act to further emphasize the point that plant-based imitators don’t fit the butter bill.
This misleading packaging prompted the American Butter Institute (ABI) to fire off a letter this summer to the FDA’s Office of Nutrition and Food Labeling, pressing the agency to either ask Country Crock to correct its label or seek its withdrawal from sale, given its false and misleading label.
Unfortunately, while the FDA was quick to respond to ABI’s complaint, the gist of its response was that it is relying on plant food marketers to police their own practices according to a 2025 FDA guidance indicating that if imitators use the name of a standardized food (butter, in this case), the imitation food should be qualified by its type of plant source. The FDA also wrote to ABI that it looks at the entire context of the label to identify the nature of the food within, to ensure that it is not misleading.
Thus, what’s particularly irritating here is that the label is obviously designed to deceive: apart from the oxymoron of “dairy free salted butter,” it also features a big red barn and silo on its front, while offering only in a very tiny font at the package bottom that it is a “79% plant-based oil spread.” If there is a better illustration of a false and misleading product package, you’d have to search the grocery store for a long time to find one.
I wish I were surprised by this shrug of the shoulders by FDA, but that’s been the consistent pattern for many years regarding things like vegan butter and plant-based butter . . . along with the whole panoply of fake milks, cheeses, ice creams, and yogurts, none of which have a drop of real dairy in them.
So, ABI and the National Milk Producers Federation will continue hammering away at the FDA regulators and ask them to simply do their jobs. We are hoping that the new leadership at FDA will feel compelled to defend food product integrity and help consumers make better choices about real foods — a process that has to start with the label.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on July 31, 2025.
U.S. Dairy Organizations Testify Before USITC on Global Policies Affecting Dairy Markets
National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) Executive Vice President for Policy Development & Strategy, Jaime Castaneda, and Senior Vice President for Global Economic Affairs, Will Loux, testified today before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) on the need for the U.S. government to hold trading partners accountable for policies that disrupt global markets for nonfat milk solids products and harm U.S. dairy producers and exporters. Chief among those concerns were Canadian dairy policies.
Throughout the hearing, Castaneda and Loux highlighted how trade distorting policies and subsidies from Canada, India, Turkey, the European Union, and others have driven artificially low-priced exports from those competitors onto global markets, undercutting U.S producers. The remarks complemented a set of in-depth comments filed on July 16.
“The U.S. is an extremely competitive player in world dairy markets,” said Castaneda. “However, Canada’s actions are one of the major policy factors undermining fair competition in those markets. We encourage this investigation to include a focus on the full breadth of trade distorting policies that Canada and other major suppliers employ that can undercut U.S. producers and exporters. It is critical that the United States takes steps to curb these anticompetitive practices during the 2026 USMCA review process.”
The hearing was part of an ongoing USITC investigation into the global nonfat milk solids market and export competitiveness. As requested by the U.S. Trade Representative, the inquiry and subsequent report will analyze government policies and programs that Canada and other major suppliers maintain that affect the production and exports of nonfat milk solids products from major dairy producing countries. NMPF and USDEC have been urging the U.S. government to take steps to address Canada’s continued attempts to circumvent its trade commitments that were intended to limit the offloading of artificially low-priced dairy proteins onto the global market. USTR’s initiation of this investigation was a key step in that direction.
“Canada’s exports of protein concentrates and isolates have more than doubled since the implementation of USMCA,” said Loux in his remarks. “India’s subsidized SMP exports were as high as 45,000 metric tons in 2021 and were sold at a 10% discount compared to the global average. Turkey’s whey exports—which have quadrupled in the last two years by selling at roughly half the global average—are increasingly moving beyond the Middle East and into critical export markets for U.S. manufacturers, including Southeast Asia and China. It is essential that the United States push back against dishonest trade practices and ensure that U.S. dairy producers can compete on a level playing field around the world.”
USITC is scheduled to submit its report to USTR by March 23, 2026.
Complementing this effort, NMPF and USDEC are dedicated to working with the Administration and Congress to leverage the investigation’s findings through the 2026 USMCA Review process to ensure that U.S. dairy producers are delivered the market access they were promised and fully benefit from the agreement moving forward.
U.S. Dairy Sees Strong Growth at Home Amid Challenging Trade Conditions
U.S. Dairy Industry Praises Indonesia Trade Agreement
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) applauded the announcement late yesterday of a new trade framework between the United States and Indonesia that eliminates tariffs on the vast majority of U.S. exports and contains pledges to remove longstanding nontariff barriers affecting American dairy products.
“This looks like it will be a significant win for U.S. dairy. We commend the Trump Administration for securing an agreement that should deliver real benefits for our dairy farmers,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “We are pleased to hear this framework removes roadblocks to trade and will help grow dairy sales in one of the world’s most populous markets. NMPF looks forward to reviewing the details of the agreement and working with the Administration to ensure Indonesia upholds its end of the bargain.”
As outlined in a White House factsheet issued yesterday, Indonesia will eliminate tariffs on approximately 99% of U.S. exports; recognize U.S. regulatory oversight, including by listing all U.S. dairy facilities and accepting certificates issued by U.S. regulatory authorities; and commit to implement a fair and transparent process for handling geographical indications (GIs) to ensure common cheese names are respected.
“Yesterday’s announcement is an important step forward in advancing opportunities for U.S. dairy exporters. This deal is poised to strengthen our long-term partnership with Indonesia while giving U.S. dairy companies a better shot at competing fairly,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “While verification that Indonesia honors its commitments will be necessary, the removal of both tariff and nontariff barriers is precisely what our industry needs to create new momentum for U.S. dairy exports and deeper collaboration with a key Southeast Asian partner.”
“The prospect of having Indonesia commit to a more transparent and balanced approach to GIs would be a meaningful advance in the global fight to preserve the use of common food names like parmesan and feta,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “We commend the U.S. negotiators for prioritizing this issue, particularly at a time when European Union is attempting to expand their GI abuse in growing dairy markets and shut out the United States. We will work diligently with the U.S. government to hold Indonesia accountable to their commitments on common names.”
The United States exported $246 million in milk powders, whey products, cheese and other dairy ingredients to Indonesia in 2024, making it the seventh largest U.S. dairy export destination. The agreement complements ongoing work by NMPF and USDEC to support integration of school milk into Indonesia’s new Free Nutritious Meals program and foster greater collaboration on trade.
NMPF, USDEC and CCFN also welcomed the news that agreements had been struck this week with the Philippines and Japan, with details forthcoming.
U.S. Dairy Industry Celebrates Julie Callahan Nomination for Chief Agricultural Negotiator
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) commended President Trump’s nomination of Dr. Julie Callahan to serve as Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
“The role of Chief Agricultural Negotiator is critical to ensuring that American dairy farmers have a voice in trade negotiations,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF and a former USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator. “Dr. Callahan is the right choice. Her expertise and leadership in agricultural trade policy is second to none. Dairy farmers and the entire U.S. dairy industry look forward to working with her to open new export markets and hold our trading partners accountable. We ask that the Senate move swiftly to advance her confirmation process.”
Callahan currently serves as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Commodity Policy where she leads on expanding and preserving market access opportunities for U.S. farmers and food manufacturers. Her impressive tenure in agricultural trade policy spans across a variety of leadership roles with USTR and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in addition to early career experience with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and the American Chemical Society.
“Dr. Callahan’s nomination today is a win for U.S. agriculture,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “The U.S. dairy industry depends on a proactive trade policy agenda to grow. Dr. Callahan brings deep trade policy expertise and an unmatched record of advocating for U.S. farmers and food manufacturers to a role vital to ensuring agriculture has a seat at the negotiating table. We look forward to working with her to drive back trade barriers and build markets for American dairy producers. USDEC calls on the Senate to quickly confirm her as our next Chief Agricultural Negotiator.”
“For far too long, the European Union has misused its geographical indications rules to monopolize common food names like ‘parmesan’ and block fair competition from U.S. producers,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “In her current role, Dr. Callahan has been leading the charge in preserving market access for U.S. common name producers in the face of these harmful EU policies. Her leadership will be instrumental in working to ensure that the European Union stops taking advantage of American farmers. We are excited for the opportunity to further work with her on this important mission and urge an expeditious confirmation process in the Senate.”
EPA’s PFAS Assessment is Well-Meaning but Wrong
By Clay Detlefsen, Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Environmental Affairs
As part of its effort to protect communities from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Environmental Protection Agency has created a draft risk assessment modeling human exposure to the “forever chemicals” PFOA or PFOS from the application of sewage sludge, or biosolids, to farmland. This risk assessment does not model risks for the general public, only very specific populations living on or near sites affected by PFAS from biosolids.
EPA’s goal of the risk assessment is to inform future actions by federal and state agencies as well as steps that wastewater systems, farmers and other stakeholders can take to protect people from PFAS exposure, while also ensuring American industry keeps feeding and fueling the nation. And that’s a worthwhile goal. However, the models used in the draft risk assessment operate on extreme assumptions which don’t account for the reality of agriculture.
One part of EPA’s assessment models the PFAS exposure risk to dairy farmers. In this model, a dairy farm family lives on an 80-acre farm next to a 13-acre lake, where sewage sludge containing one part per billion of PFAS has been applied to the pasture every year for 40 years where the cows are raised. Everyone in the family drinks 32 oz of milk directly from the bulk tank each day, and they also eat eggs and meat from animals on the farm, fish from the nearby lake, and fruits and vegetables grown on the farm. The farm family has lived on the land for the past 10 years.
Sound familiar? Of course not. There’s not a single dairy farm in the country that produces every piece of food a family eats. Furthermore, there are not that many dairies in the United States that pasture raise their cows, and even fewer that apply sewage sludge from municipal wastewater systems to their pastures every year for 40 years. This model also does not account for existing best management practices for the land application of biosolids that farmers often incorporate into their practices.
EPA’s draft risk assessment is yet another example of the agency forcing a square peg in a round hole when it comes to PFAS on dairies. It is important to continue to increase our understanding of PFAS and how it moves through our ecosystem, as well as the potential health effects of PFAS exposure. But EPA’s misguided approach in this model paints an inaccurate picture that does a disservice to everyone.
The National Milk Producers Federation, together with other major agriculture organizations, will be submitting comments to EPA in the coming weeks that explain the shortcomings of the agency’s draft risk assessment on PFOA and PFOS in sewage sludge and why this model should not be used to inform new regulations. There is no clear solution to this issue right now, but NMPF will continue to advise EPA about realistic representation of on-farm practices.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on July 17, 2025.
NMPF’s Bleiberg Explains Dairy Policy Implications of “Big, Beautiful” Budget Bill
NMPF Executive Vice President Paul Bleiberg explains for listeners of Dairy Radio Now how the recently-passed “one big beautiful bill” will affect dairy policy, including extension for fie years of the Dairy Margin Coverage program. He also forecasts whether Congress will tackle other elements of the next farm bill yet this year.
“Beautiful” Bill’s Passage Paves Way for Whole Milk
A massive tax and spending bill is now law — but with half a year left, Congress now can turn its attention to getting whole milk back in schools, NMPF’s Paul Bleiberg said in a Dairy Defined podcast.
“One item I’ll single out first that we’re hopeful to get done really in the next couple months here is the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act,” Bleiberg, NMPF’s executive vice president for government relations, said in a podcast released today. “We had a great voice vote, bipartisan voice vote out of the Senate Agriculture Committee just over a month ago, so we’re hoping that we can get that through the Senate and then through the House, and begin that work of getting whole milk and 2% milk back into schools and getting kids better access to the nutrient-dense dairy options that really give them the benefits they need and that they enjoy.”
Bleiberg also discussed efforts toward agricultural labor reform, the farm bill provisions included in current law and NMPF’s policy priorities for the rest of the year. Joining Bleiberg in the podcast is Maria Brockamp, NMPF’s new manager of government relations.
To learn more about NMPF’s policy efforts with our new bill tracker. For more of the Dairy Defined podcast, visit Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music and search under the podcast name Dairy Defined.
Dairy farmers poised for bill’s successes
By Paul Bleiberg, Executive Vice President, Government Relations
The nation’s Capitol is ground zero for numerous political debates, but none have been more all-encompassing this year than the budget reconciliation package House and Senate Republicans are crafting to enact President Trump’s policy agenda. Both chambers have been hard at work over the past few months to advance the package, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” to the president’s desk. Despite a tennis match of the fine-print details that is not yet settled, the pending bill includes many provisions that spell good news for America’s dairy farmers and their cooperatives.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has been working diligently to support and maintain these successes which will benefit dairies across the country once they come to fruition. After the previous congress extended the 2018 Farm Bill, the congressional agriculture committees got creative and worked to include key farm-related resources in this budget package. In addition, as had long been expected, the tax-writing committees are renewing and improving key policies first enacted in 2017.
Thanks to the work of the Agriculture Committee Chairmen Glen “GT” Thompson, R-PA, and John Boozman, R-AR, the bill includes multiple provisions to strengthen dairy and farm policy. NMPF is poised to secure a long-term reauthorization of the Dairy Margin Coverage program with an updated production history calculation as well as critical resources for USDA to conduct mandatory dairy manufacturing cost surveys every two years to better inform future milk pricing deliberations.
The pending bill includes new investments for dairy priorities including conservation, trade, and animal health. It ensures increased long-term funding for popular, oversubscribed conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The package also provides new trade promotion funding based on current programs that return well over $20 in export revenue for every dollar invested in the programs. Finally, it boosts funding for animal health programs that help to prevent, control, and eradicate animal diseases, such as last year’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle.
On the tax side of the ledger, House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-MO, and Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, R-ID, have worked to provide farmers and cooperatives with greater certainty. As family-owned businesses who unite to form co-ops, dairy farms are uniquely situated within the American business landscape. NMPF is pleased that the bill makes permanent the Section 199A tax deduction, enabling dairy farmer-owned cooperatives to continue either passing the deduction back to their farmer owners or reinvesting it in their cooperatives. The bill also includes an expectation for the Treasury Secretary to establish distinct emission rates for specific manure feedstocks, including dairy manure, so that energy projects fueled with dairy-derived renewable natural gas can generate greater revenue for the dairy farmer.
NMPF has been proud to work alongside the many voices in Congress and the agriculture community who have worked tirelessly to support America’s farmers and their cooperatives within the reconciliation bill. But these wins are not yet fully cemented into law, so dairy remains committed to sharing the stories of farm families as an essential component of guiding these policy successes across the finish line.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on July 7, 2025.
We Call Out the Crock for What It Isn’t
Crock /kräk/ (noun). 1. An earthenware pot or jar. 2. (North American, informal) Something considered to be complete nonsense.
Yup. And there they go again.
Country Crock, which for generations has had the unfortunate challenge of being in the margarine business, is continuing its tradition of trying to make consumers think they make butter, this time through peddling a product called “dairy-free salted butter.” That may have consumer appeal in some areas, and it’s easy to see why a product would want to draw on the popular consumer benefits of butter. But unfortunately (again) for them, there’s a big problem: Under congressional legislation and FDA standards, the product they’re claiming to make can’t actually exist.
Once more, with feeling. Dairy products are animal products, and “this product as labeled implies it is butter made without cow’s milk — which is unlawful, according to Congress’s definition of butter in 1906,” says a letter from the American Butter Institute, which is managed and staffed by NMPF, sent to FDA late last month.
“Because the Country Crock product’s principal display panel prominently bears the term ‘Butter,’ includes an image of a traditional red barn associated with dairy farms and employs an image of butter, there can be no mistake about the marketer’s intent to identify itself as butter, which is preferred by consumers, rather than what it is, a plant-based spread similar to margarine.”
Exactly.
It’s easy to understand why Country Crock keeps wanting to call its products butter. Butter demand continues to surge. On a rolling 12-month average, U.S consumer butter sales in May were 4.3 percent higher than a year earlier. They’re up 25 percent from a decade earlier.
Country Crock’s latest illegal nomenclature recalls the launch of its “plant-based butter” in 2019. That’s also a misnomer, given that statute specifies that butter can’t be plant-based. The name for such a product is “margarine,” “spread,” etc. But again, what can you expect from a company whose identity is based, from the use of the verb “churn” (verb: “To agitate or turn (milk or cream) in a machine in order to produce butter.”) to its self-proclaimed “creamy, buttery” taste, from associating itself with dairy?
Probably not much. But we can expect more from our government, which for decades has ignored willful attempts to mislead consumers from plant-based imposters.
We have high hopes, that in the name of consumer transparency and support for foods that are whole, natural and honest about what they are, that FDA finally may act in favor of accurate labeling and enforce the law this time, after decades of little positive action. In the meantime, we’ll celebrate butter’s continued success — and call out the crocks for what they are.
New NMPF Bill Tracker Monitors Key Dairy Legislation
NMPF added a bill tracker to its website June 4, offering members and other dairy advocates an up-to-date hub for monitoring federal legislation that affects U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives.
The tracker offers users detailed information on bills NMPF is monitoring, including legislative actions, sponsors, summaries and more, making it easier to stay informed and engaged in the policy process.
The new feature adds to NMPF’s existing advocacy resources, including the grassroots action page where users can message members of Congress for critical legislation such as the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.
