Dairy farmers ready to face policy challenges

ARLINGTON, Va. — Dairy farmers from across the nation celebrated fairer milk prices for farmers and pledged to work together to meet challenges on labor, trade and other issues at the National Milk Producers Federation’s board of directors meeting.

”We’re in a fast-moving environment, with a new administration and things changing every day,” said NMPF Board Chairman Randy Mooney, a farmer from Rogersville, Missouri, in remarks at the meeting. “We are happy to have NMPF watching out for us here in Washington.”

NMPF’s board meeting brought together more than 50 farmers and dairy-cooperative leaders at the nation’s largest dairy farmer trade organization, which serves as the policy voice for dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own in Washington.

Dairy farmers at the meeting heard presentations updating pressing dairy issues, including agricultural labor, trade, and H5N1 bird flu, which has now been circulating in dairy cattle for roughly one year. Milk producers also celebrated a policy win — nationwide adoption of a new Federal Milk Marketing Order that begins taking effect on June 1. The plan, spearheaded by NMPF, culminates a four-year process of seeking fairer pricing for farmers and cooperatives.

“The top two issues we have today are immigration and tariffs,” Mooney said. “Nothing else means anything else to us if we don’t have anyone to milk our cows.” On trade, he said day-to-day turbulence doesn’t change dairy’s commitment to building exports. “We intend to play in the world market and we will invest in the world market to do it,” he said.

NMPF’s board also charted a path toward a successor organization to the Cooperatives Working Together export assistance program, which has helped dairy build overseas markets. Reflecting that reformation, the board voted to rename the program NEXT (NMPF Exports & Trade) while authorizing a new business plan for final approval in June.

The board also welcomed two new directors: Mark Leichtfuss of FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative in Wisconsin; and Richard Hill of Upstate Niagara Cooperative in New York.