Every day, decisions are made by lawmakers that affect the day to day operations of the dairy industry, touching every aspect of business. Industry members, including trade organizations, continue to take action in an effort to put dairy in position to capitalize on key attributes in the areas of nutrition, global competitiveness, sustainability, technology and innovation.
While there are a large number of initiatives the industry and its representatives are actively working on, there are some key pieces of legislation that are poised to have the most significant impact on all segments of the dairy supply chain.
Farm Bill
The Farm Bill is a package of legislation passed roughly once every five years that has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods. Covering programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low income families, from beginning farmer training to support for sustainable farming practices, the Farm Bill sets the stage for US food and farm systems by providing support for America’s farmers, ranchers and forest stewards through a variety of safety net, farm loan, conservation and disaster assistance programs.
Every five years, the farm bill expires and is updated. It goes through an extensive process during which it is proposed, debated and passed by Congress before being signed into law by the president. Each farm bill has a unique title, and the current farm bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. It was enacted into law in December 2018 and was originally set to expire in 2023.
However, on Nov. 16, 2023, President Joe Biden signed into law HR 6363, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024, which extended the 2018 Farm Bill. This extension allows authorized programs to continue through Sept. 30, 2024.
The framework for the next Farm Bill set forth by the Senate Agriculture Committee drew the approval of at least two dairy trade associations.
US Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking member on the committee, released a plan for the Farm Bill that reflected the priorities of Senate Republicans.
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, applauded various features of the Senate committee’s structure that mirror the organization’s priorities.
“There remains much work to do for both committees and all of Congress to develop a bipartisan Farm Bill that can win passage in both chambers to become law,” Dykes said. “IDFA and its member leaders will continue to advocate with bipartisan committee leaders, as well as their respective staffs, to ensure our industry’s full set of priorities are reflected in future Farm Bill drafts and, ultimately, a bipartisan Farm Bill that can be enacted into law.”
Members of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA), Madison, Wis., also shared their appreciation for the Senate Republicans’ Farm Bill plans, noting the framework’s support for Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives (DBII).
DBBI is administered by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and provides resources to four regional initiatives headquartered in Wisconsin, California, Vermont and Tennessee.
“To have both parties in the Senate calling for more monies for DBII in the next Farm Bill demonstrates both their appreciation of the program’s impact – creating a resilient food supply chain and stronger rural communities – and their understanding of the challenges dairy farmers and processors face now,” said Rebekah Sweeney, WCMA’s senior director of programs and policy. “As work continues on the Farm Bill, we hope all lawmakers will agree that a measured increase in DBII funding over the next five years will pay off for generations to come.”
WCMA noted that since the 2018 Farm Bill launched DBII, the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance administered by the association and the Center for Dairy Research has provided more than $16.5 million to dairy businesses via 213 grants.
WCMA and Organic Valley penned a letter to Congress asking for DBII to be fully funded in the next Farm Bill. The letter was backed by more than 200 dairy industry leaders.
WCMA shared that Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) entered the letter into the official record as he introduced an amendment to provide $36 million in annual authorization for DBII. House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) committed to support DBII as the Farm Bill progresses, and the amendment was withdrawn.
“While WCMA and many dairy business leaders seek the express inclusion of boosted funding in the House bill, we appreciate Congressman Van Orden’s championship of DBII and trust that Chairman Thompson will work to secure the $36 million in annual support necessary to a maintenance of program impact,” Sweeney said. “Inflation and the addition of a fourth innovation center on the West Coast require an increase in Dairy Business Innovation Initiative support moving forward to ensure farmers and processors can continue to expand their production and business development, providing greater stability in our food supply chain.”
WCMA shared that the letter – sent to agricultural appropriations subcommittees chairs Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), and agriculture committees chairs Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) – requests $36 million in annual support for DBII.
Organic Valley director of government and industry affairs Adam Warthesen said the dairy industry is under pressure as it deals with market disruptions, supply chain concerns, labor issues and biosecurity threats.
“[DBII resources offer] both farmers and processors opportunity to innovate and modernize amid those challenges, creating more stable, more resilient businesses,” Warthesen said. “Since the program was first launched, we’ve seen both inflation and increased demand for DBII dollars, and $36 million in annual federal funding will deliver the support needed now.”
SNAP
The most recent framework of the next Farm Bill includes an outline for a Dairy Nutrition Incentives Program (DNIP) within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
SNAP provides food benefits to low income families to supplement their grocery budgets, so they can afford the nutritious foods essential to health and well-being.
IDFA noted the DNIP would expand the SNAP Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) program by including all milk varieties, plus cheese, yogurt and cultured products. IDFA said the DNIP outline presented is representative of a previously introduced bipartisan Dairy Nutrition Incentives Program Act, which IDFA supported and still considers the center of the organization’s Farm Bill advocacy.
The Dairy Nutrition Incentive Program Act as of June 11 had eight bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate and 15 bipartisan House cosponsors. The act would expand HFMI projects, which were put in place by the 2018 Farm Bill, and continue to incentivize milk purchases among SNAP participants in 19 states. The 2018 Farm Bill established the HFMI pilot program to help promote milk within the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
HFMI pilots, known as the Add Milk! program, have since reached hundreds of US retailers, including rural locations.
“The program has been very effective in doubling the purchasing power of SNAP participants through the use of electronic incentives,” Dykes said. “The House Agriculture Committee’s 2024 Farm Bill recognizes this success by expanding the program to incentivize nutritious milk options like 2% and whole milk, and by providing more certain funding to ensure increased access and continued success of the program.”
Dykes said IDFA wants to see the program expanded to incentivize dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. He said the organization will keep working with committee members and the dairy industry to expand HFMI and bring a broader dairy incentive program to SNAP participants.
Like IDFA, WCMA said it will advocate for an amendment to address HFMI projects so they include cheese and yogurt.
The Add Milk! nutrition incentive program, which gives SNAP participants a dollar-for-dollar match when they purchase low-fat or non-fat milk, launched in select California grocery stores and was made available at 78 Mother’s Nutritional Center locations throughout Southern California.
The Hunger Solutions Institute (HSI) at Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences launched the Add Milk! program in Alabama in 2023. It is made possible by a $3 million cooperative agreement between the USDA and HSI as part of the larger HFMI Projects.
By the end of 2024, HFMI pilot projects will be operating in 700-plus locations in the US.
Roughly one out of eight California residents participates in SNAP, according to IDFA, and milk products are linked to improved bone health, especially in children and adolescents. The association also pointed out that the USDA credits milk and milk products with adding nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D (for products fortified with vitamin D) and potassium to the diet.
FMMO
The current framework for the Farm Bill also addresses the formula for calculating the price of Class I fluid milk, making sure it will be determined by the USDA through the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) process that already is underway.
“The USDA process to make changes to the FMMO system through a federal order hearing has been underway for well over one year, and USDA will soon announce its recommended FMMO decision,” Dykes said. “IDFA members feel strongly that the Farm Bill should not predetermine the outcome of USDA’s ongoing FMMO process.”
IDFA also approved of the Senate Republicans’ plans for biennial cost surveys that would create make allowances that accurately reflect dairy product manufacturing costs, which Dykes said is “a consensus priority across the US dairy industry.” The organization said the framework reflects its requests for the next Farm Bill to include cost surveys for butter, cheddar cheese, nonfat dry milk and whey.
Additionally, IDFA approved of a provision that would eliminate the possibility that forward pricing programs for Class II, III and IV proprietary plants and their producers will lapse if a new Farm Bill is not in place before the current one expires.
The FMMO system is one of the more controversial elements of legislation affecting the US dairy industry.
In 2023, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), Kansas City, Kan., the largest dairy cooperative in the US, announced that it was withdrawing its membership from IDFA over the organization’s petition to modify the FMMO system.
DFA has 83 processing plants throughout the US and had been a longstanding member of IDFA. The decision to withdraw followed a proposal from IDFA in early 2023 which initially focused on changing how make allowances are configured.
DFA said in a statement that the decision placed the cooperative “in the untenable position of being represented as supporting a policy position which contradicts what we believe to be in the best interests of our farmer-owners and the dairy industry.”
In a statement, Andrew Jerome, vice president of communications at IDFA, said the organization cares deeply about the future of the dairy industry, as well as ensuring its stability.
“IDFA has a broad membership of hundreds that continues to include many dairy cooperatives, as well as dairy companies from all segments of the dairy supply chain,” Jerome said. “No other dairy association has this kind of diverse, influential membership with a global footprint. Because we are a diverse membership and expect disagreements from time to time, our job is to be inclusive and balance those diverse interests.”
