Farm bill moves to Senate

With a 224-200 vote, the House farm bill has passed. Dairy groups have praised the House vote and urged the Senate to act. “The House-passed 2026 farm bill supports the farm safety net, preserves existing conservation programs that include opportunities for dairy and livestock producers, bolsters trade promotion programs while protecting common food names,” said Gregg Doud, president/CEO, National Milk Producers Federation. American Dairy Coalition CEO Laurie Fischer shared a similar sentiment, “House passage of the farm bill is an important step toward providing updated tools and stability for our producers.”

Farm bill passage welcomed after three extensions

No farm bill is perfect, but Midwest Council of Agriculture President Perry Aasness sees this past week’s action as an important step forward. “The 2018 farm bill has been extended three times; just think about all that’s changed in agriculture since 2018,” Aasness said. “The bulk of the farm bill spending, the commodity and nutrition title, for example, was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill that passed last year, but farm bills are important, too. There are 12 titles, a lot of policy provisions that need to be updated.”

Farm bill faces tough Senate path

The U.S. House has passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, but the path forward in the Senate remains uncertain. The Russell Group president and CEO, Randy Russell, said that, while the House vote is a major step, the real challenge now is securing enough bipartisan support to move the bill across the finish line. Russell said the Senate brings a different set of dynamics, “As you know, you’ve got to get 60 votes, and that means you probably are going to need at least eight or nine, maybe even 10 Democrats voting for the bill to get it done.” Russell adds that nutrition programs will likely be a major sticking point, noting there is already concern over cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. At the same time, Russell says senators may push for additional emergency financial assistance for farmers, which could reshape the bill.

Walz signs DAIRI bill

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed legislation updating eligibility for the state’s Dairy Assistance, Investment and Relief Initiative. This program provides financial support to farmers enrolled in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program. The bill fixes a gap in the previous law for dairy farms who began production after 2022.

‘A good thing to help our dairy farmers’

Minnesota House Agriculture Committee Co-Chair Paul Anderson is pleased with the update to the DAIRI law. “It targets the small and medium-sized dairies,” said Anderson. “This all goes back to 2022-2023 and not getting a farm bill done and using 2022 for baseline production. This is a good thing to help our dairy farmers.”

MMPA welcomes DAIRI bill update

The Minnesota Milk Producers Association applauds the action with the Dairy Assistance, Investment and Relief Initiative. The DAIRI bill modifies eligibility requirements for the state-funded program which provides supplemental financial support for dairy farmers who participate in the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program. This bill addresses the gap in the current law that excluded dairy farms who began operating after 2022. “This is a commonsense fix that ensures dairy farmers are treated fairly and that newer operations are not left behind simply because they were not milking in 2022,” said Garrett Luthens, president, MMPA.

Canadian criticism

U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, where he criticized Canadian trade practices. In particular, Greer was upset with the lack of market access for U.S. dairy products north of the border; “Either we have to resolve it very soon in the context of USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement) negotiations, or we’ll have to resolve it through an enforcement action.”

Milk production moves higher

Milk production in the 24 major dairy states totaled 19.6 billion pounds in March. That’s up 2.4% from one year earlier. In Minnesota, milk production was in line with the national trend at 2.4%. The milk output in South Dakota rose nearly 7%. Over the past 12 months, dairy cow numbers in Minnesota have increased by 11,000 head. A total of 15,000 head were added to the South Dakota milk herd.

Class action lawsuit filed by organic dairy sector

Organic dairy farmers are suing the federal government over the Federal Milk Marketing Order and the money organic farmers are required to pay. “The federal government has locked in an updated dairy pricing regulation that actively harms organic dairy farmers,” said Elvin Ranck, an organic dairy farmer from Pennsylvania who is a plaintiff in the case. “It systematically siphons revenues generated from organic dairy sales and redistributes them to non-organic dairy farmers and their partners.” The lawsuit by members of the Coalition for Organic Dairy Exemption seeks an exclusion for organic dairy farmers from federal orders.

New officer team in place

The 97th Annual Minnesota State FFA Convention culminated with new leadership taking the reins. The incoming Minnesota state FFA president is Luke McCrea of Bethlehem Academy at Faribault. Mattea Quigley of Randolph FFA is vice president, and Annaa Sievert of Glencoe-Silver Lake is secretary. Edward Winters of Zumbrota-Mazeppa is treasurer; Ella Aarsvold of Kasson-Mantorville is reporter; and Aidyn Brutger of Eden Valley-Watkins is sentinel.

Stars Shine

The Minnesota FFA Stars for 2026 are Jada Hansen of Foley FFA as Star Farmer, Blake Siewert of Lake City FFA as Star in Production, Piper Rigge of Redwood Valley FFA as Star in Agribusiness and Andrew Mutchler of Grand Rapids FFA as the Star in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resource Sciences. Hansen’s Supervised Agricultural Experience focused on her feeder cattle operation. Siewert’s SAE is built around his work on his family dairy farm. Rigge developed her SAE around her family businesses, Grandview Valley Winery and Rivendell at Grandview. Mutchler is part of the family-owned contracting business, Mutchler’s Forestry Service.

‘I scream, you scream’

According to the International Dairy Foods Association National Ice Cream and Frozen Novelty Trends Survey, chocolate is America’s No. 1 favorite ice cream flavor. Vanilla was at the top of the list in the last survey two years ago, but it was beat out by butter pecan this year for the second spot. Vanilla is now ranked third. Cookies and cream/Oreo is fourth, and caramel/salted caramel is fifth.

Trivia challenge

The first commercial sale of frozen pizza was in 1957. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, what is the top-selling frozen pizza in the U.S.? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and five grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.