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Long-Time Dairy Advocate Jaime Castaneda to Retire

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF Executive Vice President Jaime Castaneda will retire from the organization this December after more than 27 years with the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC).

Over the course of his career, Castaneda has played a central role in negotiating and advancing many of the bilateral and regional trade agreements that have benefited U.S. dairy producers and exporters. Under his leadership, the industry achieved trade surpluses in dairy products across every major trade agreement while preserving the interests of American dairy farmers. Castaneda also has played significant leadership roles in NMPF government relations.

“The nation’s dairy farmers and dairy industry are indebted to Jaime for his years of dedication, leadership, and unwavering commitment,” said Gregg Doud, NMPF president & CEO. “Replacing Jaime’s expertise, institutional knowledge, and influence will be a tall order, but we are extremely fortunate to have Shawna Morris leading our trade policy efforts moving forward.”

Castaneda will continue serving as Executive Director of the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), where he has led international efforts to protect the use of common food and beverage terms against restrictive geographical indication policies, and remain active with USDEC and in international and domestic dairy issues.

August NEXT-Assisted Export Sales Total 16.9 Million Pounds

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NEXT member cooperatives secured 57 contracts in August, adding 16.9 million pounds of product in NEXT-assisted sales in 2026. These products will go to customers in Asia, North America, Middle East-North Africa, Oceania, the Caribbean, South America and Central America and will be shipped from August 2026 through next July.

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.

Herd Growth, Protein Demand Drive Milk Gains

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

U.S. milk production rose 3.0% on a liquid basis in June as producers added 52,000 head to the milking herd and responded to signals for more dairy proteins.

Circana data shows that cottage cheese sales so far this year have risen 11%, yogurt sales have increased 6.5%, and ultrafiltered milk sales are up 8.3% as consumers reach for high protein dairy products at retail. Skim ingredients are in demand at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as well. Nonfat dry milk prices rebounded in August as competition for skim solids continued and dry whey prices remain firm. Butter demand remains healthy both at home and abroad, although ample production is limiting price upside. Domestic demand for cheese has ebbed as consumers visit quick service restaurants less frequently, but record export volumes have prevented CME Cheddar and Class III prices from easing further.

U.S. milk production seems to have been unbothered by summer heatwaves, aside from a few regions where milk per cow yields dipped.

Looking ahead, NMPF analysts anticipate growth to continue as producers push for higher protein components and the beef market incentives producers to retain heifers for longer. However, feed prices are forecast to rise as drought limits corn yields and low stocks keep futures elevated. Analysts don’t expect rising feed costs to be accompanied by an increase in the All-Milk Price; that suggests that DMC margins could fall below the $9.50/cwt maximum payment threshold from August through the end of this year.

Farm Bill Stalls in Senate Ag Committee, NMPF Pushes Dairy Priorities

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The Senate Agriculture Committee failed Aug. 6 to advance the Agricultural Act of 2026 in a 10 to 11 vote, falling short amid a partisan standoff over SNAP provisions and the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY.

Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-AR, called the outcome “deeply disappointing” and has pledged another vote when the Senate returns from recess this month, at which point McConnell may be available for a vote.

The setback doesn’t diminish the need to get a farm bill across the finish line. NMPF continues to champion mandatory cost and yield surveys to inform future Federal Milk Marketing Order updates, dairy safety net program extensions and expanded funding for dairy nutrition and innovation initiatives, among others.

NMPF will continue engaging with both parties as negotiations resume, emphasizing that dairy farmers need certainty.

NMPF Urges Canadian Reforms in Trade Dispute

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF supported the Trump Administration’s use on Aug. 22 of a novel trade authority tool in the hopes of coercing Canada to fix its dairy tariff-rate quota system.

The U.S. government’s action resulted in the implementation of 50 percent tariffs on Canadian dairy products, as well as a range of other imports from Canada. The Administration cited Canada’s unfair Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) allocation rules, which discriminate against U.S. dairy exporters, as a main motivation behind the tariffs.

“This action sends an unmistakable message that Canada’s ongoing disregard for its USMCA dairy commitments carries real consequences,” said NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud, urging Canada to “stop looking for workarounds and instead sit down in good faith” to resolve the outstanding implementation issues that NMPF has been raising for years.

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council have consistently urged the Administration to prioritize resolution of Canada’s chronic TRQ underfill and its habit of exploiting loopholes to sidestep USMCA dairy protein disciplines as part of the ongoing USMCA Joint Review. These new tariffs reflect that sustained engagement translating into heightened leverage.

The immediate path forward remains uncertain following the negotiations’ breakdown over non-agricultural issues in August. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last week announced a sweeping set of retaliatory tariffs on Canadian imports – including several dairy products – set to begin Sept. 8. NMPF will continue working directly with the Administration to ensure any resolution of the current standoff includes binding fixes to Canada’s TRQ eligibility rules and quota administration.

Acting Secretary Shown Labor Crisis via NM Dairy

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF joined Western Growers in New Mexico on Aug. 14 to host Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling and provide a firsthand look at the labor challenges facing U.S. agriculture.

Sonderling toured DFA member John DeRuyter’s dairy farm near Las Cruces, then joined an ag labor roundtable with farmers and agricultural leaders from across the state.

NMPF underscored dairy’s acute and ongoing labor needs during the visit and pressed Sonderling to collaborate with the president and Congress to deliver real ag labor reform. Sonderling has led key roles at the Department of Labor and was nominated for Secretary in June.

This visit is part of NMPF’s sustained, on the ground push to keep dairy’s workforce crisis front and center in Washington. NMPF also is making passage of the Securing America’s Workforce Act (SAWA) a top legislative priority. The legislation would modernize the outdated H-2A program to finally work for dairy’s year-round labor needs, providing a stable, legal workforce that farms depend on every single day.

NMPF is working every angle, administrative and legislative, to get this done. To get involved, visit nmpf.org/take-action.

With Canada, Beef and Ag Labor, August was Not a “Recess”

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The term “August recess,” used to describe the traditional slow period when lawmakers and federal workers alike escaped Washington’s heat and humidity, was a misnomer this year. From critical trade negotiations with Canada, to a frustrating development on beef tariffs, to the ongoing effort to make ag-labor reform real, August has been one of the year’s busiest months for the dairy industry in Washington. (And that’s without even mentioning the Senate version of the farm bill, which is in temporary limbo after a failed committee vote.)

We’ve been keeping up with every development, speaking out and acting as needed on behalf of our members. Here’s a rundown of key issues, and how we’ve stood on them.

On Canada. With USMCA talks with Canada broken down and the potential for retaliatory tariffs in both directions hanging over both economies, including several dairy products, the U.S.-Canada trade relationship is at an impasse, at least for the moment. This may be surprising to many who don’t closely follow the traditionally friendly relationship – but in dairy, this showdown has been decades in the making.

Under the USMCA trade agreement negotiated during the first Trump term, Canada committed to providing meaningful additional duty-free access for U.S. dairy exports through a series of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Canada’s administration of those TRQs has repeatedly resulted in chronic under-use, reducing the benefit for American dairy farmers. Canada also continues to exploit loopholes to sidestep USMCA on dairy protein exports.

NMPF and our partners at the U.S. Dairy Export Council have long urged the White House to make fixing this a priority. The Trump team has consistently called out Canada’s disregard for its USMCA commitments on dairy market access. Canada needs to stop looking for workarounds and instead sit down in good faith to resolve these long-standing dairy issues. Canada’s retaliation against U.S. goods is disappointing, but all it’s doing is forcing the U.S. hand. A cool-down would be welcome; but must include a dairy market access fix. The objective should be for both our countries to prevent increased friction and build on the progress made through weeks of negotiations.

While we consistently offer our expertise and assistance to support the Administration on improving U.S.-Canadian dairy trade, we also believe it is important to explain the unintended consequences of federal intervention in agricultural commodity markets such as this recent decision to eliminate the tariff on imported beef.

Cull cow and calf sales have become a key economic driver for U.S. dairy farmers, equating to roughly 20% of annual dairy farm income, and more than 20% of the U.S. beef production is now being supplied by dairy farms. Current beef prices have helped push dairy cow numbers to the highest point in the United States since 1992; meanwhile U.S. milk production is up 2.7% versus last year. Both trends help keep beef and dairy products affordable for consumers; dairy is stepping up to contribute to solving the consumer challenge of higher beef prices.

Rewarding imports sends the wrong message to U.S. dairy farmers and manufacturers who are investing billions of dollars to grow the domestic supply of beef and dairy products. The decision to remove duties on imports of 300,000 metric tons of beef over the next 90 days will have a short-term, muted price impact for consumers. But the effects on both dairy and beef producers could be felt for some time by delaying the necessary economic signal sent to U.S. producers to increase beef production.

While all that has been going on, we’ve continued our efforts to see the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, landmark ag-labor legislation, become law. The election-year calendar makes passage in 2026 a challenge; but we’re doing our best to ensure that when the political moment for real reform arrives, Congress knows that change is needed and that a powerful coalition won’t settle for anything less than progress.

Since the June 30 introduction of the bill, which would finally grant dairy farms meaningful access to the H-2A visa program and make that program more workable, we have:

  • Coordinated more than 100 Capitol Hill meetings with lawmakers to advocate for SAWA’s passage as part of our state associations summit.
  • Sent a letter along with eight of our member cooperatives and nearly all state dairy associations among the more than 450 agriculture groups, businesses and associations who collectively urged SAWA passage on Aug. 10.
  • Joined Western Growers in hosting acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling in New Mexico to discuss the ag labor crisis. The Aug. 14 visit included a tour to DFA member John DeRuyter’s dairy outside of Las Cruces. Sonderling will be a critical voice in getting the Trump administration’s support in securing H-2A reforms.
  • Been active on social media in showing the need for the bill and making folks aware of how important this legislation is. That social media campaign will be expanded in September as it complements a broader, agriculture wide effort to show support for Thompson other leaders for positive change.
  • And finally, our  Advocacy Alert is drawing both dairy farmers and their allies into the debate.

With each passing year, the idea that Washington slows down in August is increasingly a relic of a bygone era. The world is too connected, the conflicts too intense, the needs too real and urgent to pause. And if Washington doesn’t, we don’t either. These have been just a few of the ways we’ve served our members during the “recess.” And a challenging fall awaits.

 

Gregg Doud

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF Statement on Plan to Increase Beef Imports

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:

NMPF is concerned by the Trump Administration’s decision to increase imports of foreign-raised beef, which will have unintended consequences for U.S. cattle and dairy producers alike. Cull cow and calf sales are a key economic driver for U.S. dairy farmers and equates to 20% of annual dairy farm income and greater than 20% of the U.S. beef production is now being supplied by dairy farms. Current beef prices are an important reason why we have the most dairy cows in the United States since 1992; meanwhile, U.S. milk production is up 2.7% versus last year. Both trends help keep beef and dairy products affordable for consumers; dairy is stepping up to solve the consumer challenge of higher beef prices.

Policy-created disruption threatens the billions of dollars invested by U.S. dairy farmers and manufacturers to grow supply of beef and dairy products. For the second time this year, the federal government has significantly intervened into the U.S. beef market, this time to remove duties on imports of 300,000 mt of beef over the next 90 days. This will have a short-term, muted economic impact for consumers: But the effects on both dairy and beef producers could be felt for some time. This decision risks a reduction in the price dairy farmers receive for their cull cows and higher profits for foreign beef exporters, all for a potentially nominal decrease in the retail ground beef price.

Again, removing the tariff isn’t likely to lower consumer prices, as the price of this imported product is already well below that of the comparable domestically produced product derived from U.S. cull dairy and beef cows, but it will certainly improve the profit margin for the exporter. The more consequential impact will be a delay in the necessary economic signal sent to U.S. beef producers to increase production, which may reduce domestic supplies in the longer term.

U.S. dairy farmers’ appreciation for the strength that beef prices have provided to their operations cannot be overstated, as milk prices continue to be low by historical standards. That appreciation extends to U.S. consumers who are increasingly demanding not only our exceptional dairy products but also the beef we produce. That’s the choice U.S. consumers are making, as it should be.

USDEC, NMPF Thank Administration for Maintaining Pressure on Canada to Resolve USMCA Dairy Concerns

Posted on by Jessi-Ryah Cordova

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) expressed their strong appreciation to the Trump Administration for its continued focus on using all available trade tools to resolve outstanding U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dairy market access issues with Canada. With a 50 percent tariff on certain Canadian imports taking effect on Saturday, the organizations urged Canada to return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation.

“We appreciate the Administration’s persistence in standing up for American dairy producers and exporters who have waited far too long for Canada to live up to its promises,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “Canada has had plenty of chances to fix its unfair market access practices and close the loopholes it’s used to dodge its dairy commitments under USMCA. This weekend’s action makes clear that patience has run out. We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration until Canada resolves these issues and America’s dairy farmers and exporters see the full benefits USMCA promised.”

“This action sends an unmistakable message that Canada’s ongoing disregard for its USMCA dairy commitments carries real consequences,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “It’s time for Canada to stop looking for workarounds and instead sit down in good faith to resolve these outstanding USMCA dairy implementation issues. Canadian retaliation would only serve to force the United States’ hand in escalating its leverage. The objective should be for both our countries to prevent increased friction and build on the progress made through weeks of negotiations.”

Under USMCA, Canada committed to providing meaningful additional duty-free access for U.S. dairy exports through a series of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Canada’s administration of those TRQs has repeatedly resulted in chronic underfill. In addition, Canada has continued to exploit loopholes to sidestep USMCA disciplines on dairy protein exports. NMPF and USDEC have consistently urged the Administration to prioritize resolution of both issues as part of the ongoing USMCA Joint Review and continue to call on Canada to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.

Dairy Farmers Near Win in Decades-Long Regulatory Fight

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, aka EPCRA, was created in 1986 to help communities plan for chemical emergencies. It requires industry to report on the storage, use, and release of hazardous substances to federal, state, and local governments.

It’s a good law, says NMPF Chief Counsel Clay Detlefsen, but unintended consequences have snared dairy farmers into a decades-long fight against over-regulation. And for those decades, Detlefsen’s been part of every twist and turn, with potential light at the end of the tunnel within the next year.

“EPCRA overall I think is a great law. It’s just been misconstrued by environmental activists, and they’ve hijacked a good law for nefarious purposes,” Detlefsen said. “My job is making sure that regulatory agencies don’t do stupid things, and yes, it takes literally decades to stop things from happening.”