Taking Stock and Gearing Up for What’s Ahead

Over the past year, the dairy industry has faced a wave of challenges from Washington, state capitals, and markets around the world. Last month at our annual meeting in Kissimmee, FL, I talked about some of the big wins NMPF has shepherded for dairy in 2026, and I shared a few of my thoughts on what’s to come.

The theme of the annual meeting this year was “Committed. Resilient. Ready.” and I think that really sums this industry up beautifully. To be totally honest, it’s been a pretty darn stressful year in Washington. But time and time again, this industry has shown up and proven its commitment, its resilience, and its readiness for whatever comes next.

Right now, we’re advocating on dairy’s behalf on a number of key topics including labor, the farm bill, nutrition and trade.

The last time we talked about meaningful agricultural labor reform and actually accomplished it in the United States was in 1986, 40 years ago. Spend five minutes with any dairy farmer in this country, and you’ll hear why reform is long overdue. As we’ve said for years, dairy does not have a seasonal labor problem; we have a year-round workforce problem. Our farms operate 365 days a year, yet we have never had a visa program built for their needs. Over the past year, however, that message has gained traction in the halls of Congress and with the administration. We’ve worked with Chairman GT Thompson and the House Ag Committee. His bill, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, is one of the strongest we’ve seen on this issue and marks a major step forward. Together, these efforts have helped shift the conversation in Washington: more offices on Capitol Hill than ever before understand that dairy farmers need a year-round workforce, not just seasonal labor. That growing understanding is real progress, but it is only the beginning. We still have a long way to go, and we won’t stop until dairies across the country can find and keep a legal, stable workforce.

We are also as close as we’ve ever been in recent years to passing a new, comprehensive farm bill with significant wins for dairy. While we secured important wins to dairy programs, such as Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, challenging market conditions have many producers wondering whether our risk management tools are keeping up. To that end, the NMPF board came together in Florida to support a package of improvements to both DMC and Dairy Revenue Protection as the House and Senate try to negotiate a farm bill in the final weeks of 119^th Congress. NMPF is already hard at work trying to secure these improvements before the end of the year.

The issue of nutrition — the dietary guidelines, the broader debate about what goes on the American plate, defining “ultra-processed foods” — has taken a life of its own in Washington. We’ve been pushing everything we can think of from whole milk, defending flavored milk in schools, you name it, making the science-backed case that dairy is one of the most nutrient dense, accessible, and affordable foods that families have.

It’s been a very active couple of years on the trade front. We’ve been engaged in the USMCA joint review process since its beginning in July, working on Mexico and Canada to get them to live up to the commitments that they’ve made, especially Canada on their tariff rate quotas. Canada’s our second biggest market. It’s very important for us. We value this relationship, and I’m confident we’ll sort this out. Through August, U.S. dairy exports are up 12 percent, and if we can keep up this pace, we could set a record at $10.6 billion. Alongside the U.S. Dairy Export Council, we keep pushing to open new markets and defend the ones we have because, for a lot of our members, export markets aren’t just nice to have anymore; they’re essential.

NMPF also built out its state issues advocacy this year and tapped into state networks more than ever before to help address issues that may not have reached the federal level yet but still have major effects on our members.

The dairy industry has been tremendously committed and resilient, chipping away at these issues to make the future of dairy stronger. And we’re ready to adapt to the moment so our progress can continue.

The midterm election will result in a minimum of 83 new members of Congress next year out of the 435 House members and 100 senators. This nearly historic level of turnover will bring an immense challenge on Capitol Hill next year as we get to know all of these new members and their staff and find the ones who will work with us to advance not just dairy, but all of agriculture. It sure seems like it gets more difficult with each passing year to find staffers that understand the basic realities of dairy farming.

It is going to take all of us to deal with this. And my message is very simple: We will work with anyone we can find that is willing to pick up the mantle for dairy, regardless of what side of that aisle they are on. The issues we’re tackling are bigger than party politics.

The future of the dairy industry and its leadership is bright because we put in the time and effort in terms of staff in Washington to get these things done. We’ve had great success in Washington; we know what it takes to win, and that’s what makes this industry special.

Tomorrow’s election will bring about monumental levels of change, but we remain committed, resilient, and ready to advocate for you.

Editor’s Note: This column is adapted from remarks given Oct. 20 at NMPF’s annual meeting.