Tag: One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Dairy = Growth, Expansion, Opportunity and Optimism

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

Editor’s Note: This column is adapted from remarks given Nov. 11 at NMPF’s Annual Meeting.

 

I love where we are in this industry right now. We are right where we want to be.

Yes, there are going to be challenges. Yes, there’s going to be uncertainty. But we’re in expansion mode. And I love it.

What I want the theme to be today, in our industry, is growth and expansion and opportunity and optimism. I understand that that’s tough to do when you’re in Washington DC these days. It’s a tough place to do business. It’s a tough place to get anything done.

But the relationships that the National Milk Producers Federation has are unbelievably strong. Whether it’s Senator Thune or Chairman GT Thompson, up one side and down the other. The unbelievable work, unbelievable work that has gone in on getting whole milk in schools, by Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas, and Senator Welch from Vermont. Bipartisan work.

I want to give you a quick status on whole milk in schools, and where we are. We’re so close on this one, and this is a huge thing. Not just for U.S. consumers, and for all of us who have kids in school, but it’s just doing the right thing.

Meanwhile, the One Big Beautiful tax bill is a monumental accomplishment in terms of our global competitiveness. I know the tariffs are disruptive, but that’s a small piece of what amounts to a U.S. industrial policy. We have a tax policy that I think makes us really competitive globally — and not only does that help us on the farm in terms of confidence and investment, but the bill holds other benefits as well: the Section 199A depreciation, the estate tax, the increase in the reference prices for soybeans and wheat, the extension of DMC through 2031 — all were in that bill, folks. That was a critical piece that we got done.

In terms of global competitiveness, we also have to continue with trade deals. USTR is working day and night. These deals are going to matter. We’ve got deals done with Malaysia and Cambodia. And you say, “Well, my goodness, is that a really big deal?” Yes, because these deals got rid of barriers, we got rid of restrictions. We’ve got some really good trade agreements coming, too, in terms of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. If you’ve noticed, and think about where the president was recently in those countries, those are all the countries that border China, folks. And that’s the really interesting thing: In terms of strategy, the president said, “Well, I’m going to make sure that I go visit all these countries first, before I talk to President Xi in China.” That’s not by coincidence.

Having the opportunity to have duty-free access into Southeast Asia is something that we have wanted across all of agriculture, and in particular in the dairy industry, for a long, long time. That’s going to make a huge difference for us.

Along with these opportunities, we also have some of the best leaders in this industry. Our new NEXT program is an exciting part of our trade future, and the implementation and the federal milk marketing order has been really, really smooth so far. The ability for you to be unanimous in what you wanted as an industry, as you presented this to the government, made all the difference.

As a former government official, I can tell you, when you’re not unanimous, that gives that government official the ability to kind of pick and choose what they want to do. When you come in and say, “This is unanimous, this is what we want to do,” you’ve got no wiggle room as the government official. You’ve got to implement this. And that’s why you were so successful in this.

I want to talk briefly about 2026. At NMPF we have done some strategic planning, and we’ve got some work to do on government, governance, leadership development. The YC program is an unbelievable asset for us in this industry. Thank you all for participating in that. But one of the things we’re going to change at National Milk as soon as this meeting is over is, we’re going to try to have a new lease on life on state issues. You’ve got somewhere between 150 and 200 different pieces of state legislation in the food business right now, and in agriculture. We’re going to try to tackle this, not to lobby on these issues, but just to keep track of what we have going on and to be able to coordinate.

On the trade side, we’ve got the USMCA review. We’re constantly dealing with China. We’ve got a farm bill to finish, and then of course, we have a midterm election here coming this fall. And a challenge to 2026 is, you’re going to have your folks that represent you at home say, “Well, we’ll get to that after the midterm election.”

Well, this immigration issue can’t wait for that, folks. It is without question our number one issue in dairy, but across all of agriculture, in my opinion. And I think, to give you the charge today on all of this, I think we need to remind our elected officials that we’ve got to milk the cows every day. We have to do what we do every day. We don’t have time to wait for the inconvenience of an election to get things done in Washington.

So your charge today is this: We are expanding, we are growing, we are doing well. We have great relationships, and we look forward to the year we have ahead. I’m optimistic.

Gregg Doud

President & CEO, NMPF

 

‘Beautiful’ Bill Wins Mark Dairy Legislative Progress

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft
  • Obtained long-term dairy safety net and conservation funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
  • Won funding and authorization for mandatory dairy processing cost surveys
  • Advocated successfully for permanent Section 199A tax deduction for farmers and cooperatives
  • Elevated dairy’s unique ag labor needs amidst political uncertainty

NMPF worked tirelessly this year to secure success for dairy farmers and their cooperatives in the 2025 budget reconciliation package, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The package’s enactment into law by President Trump on July 4 also included the first new farm bill spending since 2018. The dairy industry welcomed provisions within the legislation that provide certainty to producers and their cooperatives.

New investments include a reauthorized Dairy Margin Coverage program through 2031 that updates the program’s production history calculation. NMPF also lauded dedicated funding for USDA to conduct mandatory processing plant cost surveys every two years and report the results to dairy stakeholders, a key part of its Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization planning that required congressional action outside USDA’s new order implemented in June. These cost studies will inform future milk pricing conversations by giving all stakeholders uniform, transparent pricing information.

The congressional spending legislation also reinvested the remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation dollars into the Farm Bill baseline, an NMPF-backed policy that will make more funds available for dairy farmers and their cooperatives to use conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. NMPF celebrated an adjusted gross income (AGI) waiver that allows producers whose AGI is over $900,000 to use conservation programs as long as 75% or more of their income comes from farming, ranching, or forestry-related activities. Finally, the package included new trade promotion funding based on current programs that return well over $20 in export revenue for every dollar invested in the programs.

NMPF also succeeded in making the Section 199A tax deduction permanent, enabling dairy farmer-owned cooperatives to continue either passing the deduction back to their farmer owners or reinvesting it in their cooperatives. A permanent Section 199A helps farmer cooperatives stay competitive in today’s marketplace.

Beyond the tax and spending law, work continues toward another longtime priority: ag labor reform that gives dairy farmers access to the H-2A visa program and provides stability for current dairy farm workers and their families.

This year, the Trump Administration has prioritized immigration enforcement while key officials, including President Trump himself as well as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, have stated the need to address agriculture’s workforce needs. NMPF has met with key individuals at the White House, USDA, and the Department of Labor to highlight the dire workforce uncertainty facing America’s dairies and responding to Beltway misconceptions about farm labor. Paired with dozens of meetings with members of Congress, NMPF continues to build momentum to bring relief to farmers on ag labor as soon as possible.

Many members of Congress have advanced NMPF’s message on ag labor. Members of both parties signaled their desire to work with the Trump Administration on this topic at a House Agriculture Committee hearing with Secretary Rollins in June. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. GT Thompson, R-PA, made a compelling case regarding the importance of current farm workers. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-SD, carried a message directly from NMPF’s June Board Meeting and emphasized dairy farmers’ anxieties surrounding the current workforce situation.

NMPF will continue to push for progress on ag labor and other priorities in the 119th Congress for the betterment and prosperity of dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own.