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, saying, “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.

Rollins visits Wisconsin dairy farm

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hosted a roundtable at Morning Star Dairy Farm in Onalaska to discuss agriculture and farming in Wisconsin. The farm bill was part of the conversation. “What this current farm bill represents is the addition (with) what we need to do to strengthen crop insurance, what we need to do to make sure we have the right labor rules on the ground so that our farmers can actually have labor that can work year-round, things like that,” Rollins said.3 Wisconsin Congressman Derrick Van Orden was also part of the event.

Landmark win for common names

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released its 2026 Special 301 Report, highlighting the progress made in securing commitments from trade partners to protect the free use of generic food terms. This effort is to combat the European Union’s geographical indication policies for common terms, such as “feta” and “parmesan.” The U.S. Dairy Export Council, National Milk Producers Federation and Consortium for Common Food Names welcomed the report. “This past year’s reciprocal trade agreements are a sea change and we welcome USTR’s leadership and persistence in addressing this issue,” said Krysta Harden, president/CEO, USDEC.

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 Wisconsin, milk production was up 2.8% from one year ago. Over the past 12 months, dairy cow numbers in the state increased by 27,000 head.

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.

WDE and FFA collaboration

The National FFA Organization has endorsed the World Dairy Expo FFA Dairy Judging Contest and will promote it to its membership. Last year, more than 100 schools from across the country participated in the competition. The partnership is designed to encourage more chapters to make the trip to Madison in September.

New Walmart dairy plant opens

Walmart has launched its third owned-and-operated milk processing facility. The Robinson, Texas, facility represents an investment of $350 million.

‘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.

Search begins for DMI CEO

Dairy Management Inc. has formally launched the search for its new president and chief executive officer. The DMI board is working with a talent advisory firm, ZRG Partners, to support this search. This action follows the planned retirement of DMI CEO Barbara O’Brien.

UWRF recognizes Rominski

University of Wisconsin-River Falls College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences honored Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Randy Romanski with its Wisconsin Distinguished Agriculturalist Award.

HOF honors for Schaefer

The Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame has inducted Dan Schaefer, a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s meat and animal sciences department. Schaefer is known for his work on finishing Holstein steers and influencing the current beef-on-dairy trend.

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.