Independent dairy farmers across the US are calling on Congress to pass a sweeping dairy reform bill intended to stabilize the industry and slow consolidation amid widespread small-farm closures.
The Milk from Family Dairies Act, introduced in June by Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and cosponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), addresses market consolidation and volatility in the dairy industry that independent farmers say disproportionately impact small-scale dairies.
The bill was referred to the Senate Agriculture Committee in June and still awaits a hearing, and independent dairy farmers are advocating for Congress to move forward on the proposed legislation. On Oct. 23, the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), along with 87 farmer, rural, labor, processor and environmental organizations, sent a letter to Congress calling for immediate action.
NFFC and other signatories note that milk prices paid to US dairy farmers have been below production costs for decades, which has left them unable to pay their bills, invest in sustainable practices and pay workers a fair wage.
“We need a new US dairy policy oriented towards small- and mid-size dairy farms, and the Milk from Family Dairies Act provides a path forward,” the letter states. “The benefits of a new way forward for the dairy industry are numerous. Dairy farmers would get paid a fair price and the transparency, competition and agency in the sector that they deserve. Consumers, workers and dairy processors will be guaranteed a consistent, resilient and affordable milk supply.”
‘We have real concerns,’ NMPF says
Meanwhile, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), which represents dairy producers and the cooperatives they own, opposes the bill. Trey Forsyth, NMPF vice president of government and regulatory affairs, said in an email response that the organization shares Welch’s “goal of ensuring that producers remain viable.”
“However, we have real concerns about how this legislation seeks to meet those goals,” Forsyth said. “Government-mandated supply management has a track record of unintended consequences: It limits farmers’ ability to grow and respond to market signals, it puts producers who have invested in expanding their operations at a disadvantage and it raises consumer grocery costs.”
Decades of small-farm decline
Independent farmers, like Juliette Albrecht, a second-generation farmer who runs a 100-cow dairy farm in southwest Missouri, said the livelihoods of thousands of independent dairy farmers are threatened under the current system.
Consolidation of dairy production since 1980 has resulted in a massive decline in independent farmers, dropping from roughly 200,000 to about 23,600 by 2025.
She explained that while herd numbers have decreased, cow numbers have increased due to the consolidation into “mega-dairies” that has empowered processors to dictate terms to producers through: termination of milk pickup routes without notice; excessive hauling fees that make production unaffordable; and exclusivity clauses in contracts that prevent farmers from selling raw milk directly to consumers, which is legal within the state but not at the federal level.
“A lot of producers are scared to speak out because the fear of retaliation is very strong in dairy,” she said.
Albrecht said direct raw-milk sales give her an alternative source of income and reduce her fear of retaliation. Missouri permits farm-origin sales of raw milk to individuals for personal use, and she said her cooperative allows her to make those sales.
“There are many co-ops that do not allow raw milk sales that would even allow producers to survive because we can make exponentially more, cutting out the middleman versus selling it to a processing plant, but now we are with a co-op which actually acts like a co-op,” she said.
Under the existing system, dairy farmers have little power to negotiate prices and rely on a few large processors that bottle milk and make dairy products, according to Welch.
“Moreover, the price farmers receive for their milk from processors can vary greatly and regularly fails to cover farmers’ cost of production,” he said. “Ensuring a fair price for dairy farmers would allow small- and mid-size dairies to stay afloat and put the brakes on consolidation within an ever-concentrated dairy industry.”
Tristan Swartz, a dairy farmer in Wisconsin who has spoken out in favor of dairy industry reform through his social media page, Doing It Wrong Dairy, echoed Albrecht’s argument that co-ops often lobby for large business interests rather than individual farmers.
Swartz’s 50-cow farm produces roughly a million pounds of milk a year, he said.
“What’s happened is big business and business interests have bought enough of these co-ops that it’s not for the small guy anymore,” he said.
NFFC argued in its letter to Congress that the decline of independent dairy farms is also driven by low prices and production beyond domestic demand causing an overreliance on export markets to dispose of excess volume.
“Even as the number of licensed dairy herds decreased by almost two-thirds in the past two decades, national milk production increased by over 30%. Small- and mid-size farmers are particularly at risk in an export-focused industry, which is vulnerable to global political uncertainties,” NFFC noted.
Dairy reforms focused on small farms
Welch’s Senate Bill 4906 would establish minimum milk prices based on herd size and production costs, allocate production allowances and impose fees on farmers who exceed them. The Dairy Market Stabilization Program would be administered by USDA with advice from a producer-led National Dairy Producer Board and regional boards.
“Specifically, the Dairy Market Stabilization Program would match national dairy production to national demand for the product, ensuring producers receive a fair price for the milk they produce,” Welch’s office said in a bill summary. “Additionally, the bill would support the consumption of domestically produced dairy, institute program governance and accountability mechanisms to ensure strong corporate accountability, and prohibit financial exploitation or consolidation within the program.”
Albrecht said the bill would prevent arbitrary processor control over the system and create a buffer between producers and processors to mitigate retaliation.
Opponents have argued that the bill would create a quota system similar to Canada’s, but Albrecht argued that the proposal’s ban on selling or leasing production allowances would help prevent those allowances from becoming a costly barrier for young farmers. The bill would nevertheless establish regional waitlists for new producers seeking production allocations.
“Dairy farmers are scared that it’ll turn into a Canadian quota system where there’s bigger barriers to entry, but I would argue that unless we change something rapidly here, we’re already going to have no young farmers left because there’s very few youngsters that I know of, young guys and women, that want to dairy in today’s market,” she said. “They want to dairy. They love the lifestyle. But there’s nothing appealing to it if you’re gonna never get out of debt.”
NMPF’s Forsyth warned against establishing a quota system.
“Rigid production controls aren’t the right path forward for dairy,” he said. “We look forward to working with Senator Welch and others in Congress on initiatives that help farmers of all sizes and circumstances. That’s what’s best for the long-term health of the dairy industry.”
