The Milk from Family Dairies Act establishes a new Dairy Market Stabilization Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) this week led the introduction of the Milk from Family Dairies Act, legislation which would ensure market transparency and fair prices for family
dairy farmers, maintain consumer access to reliable and reasonably priced dairy products, and revitalize rural communities by establishing a Dairy Market Stabilization Program to ensure dairy farmers get a fair price for their milk based on their cost of production.Since 2000, 75% of America’s dairy farms have shuttered. In the past decade, Vermont has lost more than 400 dairies. Today, only 24,000 dairy farms remain in the United States. U.S. dairy policy has fallen short of addressing the market consolidation crisis and modern challenges facing dairy farmers and rural communities.
“America’s dairy industry is in crisis, and Vermont’s dairy farmers know this all too well. Hardworking small and family dairy farms in our state—a majority of which milk fewer than 200 cows—have been hit especially hard by consolidation and price shifts over the last two decades. Too many farms are unable to break even and too many have shuttered completely. Farmers create such an immense amount of wealth, but are more and more often deprived the profits of their hard work—that needs to change.” said Senator Welch.
“Dairy farms in Vermont and across this country are being forced out of business every day. Over the past decade, Vermont has lost over half of its dairy farms, many family-owned for generations. Enough is enough. It is time to give our dairy farmers the support they need. This legislation is an important step in protecting dairy farms—especially our smallest—and the rural economies they support,” said Senator Sanders.
Small farms across the United States are struggling to cover production costs from the sale of milk, and farms are pressured to produce more milk in an attempt to recoup those costs. Additionally, lack of market stability and volatile milk prices—which disproportionately impact smaller, family-scale dairies and often drive them out of business—are forcing producers to scale up operations to stay competitive. This leads to a vicious cycle where increased production creates a surplus of milk, shrinking farmers’ profit.
At the same time, dairy farmers have very little power to negotiate their product pricing and are extremely dependent on a select handful of processors who bottle milk and make dairy products due to the perishable nature of fluid milk. Moreover, the price farmers receive for their milk from processors can vary greatly and regularly fails to cover farmers’ cost of production. 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.
The Milk from Family Dairies Act’s 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. Additionally, the bill would support the consumption of domestically produced dairy, and institute program governance and accountability mechanisms to ensure strong corporate accountability and prohibit financial exploitation or consolidation within the program. The new program would also initiate annual reviews of and publications on the economic impacts of dairy sector consolidation on dairy producers and grocery prices for dairy consumers.
Further, the bill would reform and create USDA programs that revive regional dairy supply chains, including through new training and apprenticeship programs, expanding access to the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives, new cost-share grants for small-scale dairy infrastructure, and more funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program.
The Milk from Family Dairies Act is supported by: Agrarian Trust; American Agriculture Movement; American Economic Liberties Project; Ashtabula, Geauga; Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment; Dakota Resource Council; Dakota Rural Action; Farm Action Fund, Farm Aid; Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance; Family Farm Defenders; Food for Maine’s Future; Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement; Kansas Farmers Union; Kentucky Black Farmers Association; Lake Counties Farmers Union (Ohio); Land Stewardship Project; Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance; Minnesota Farmers Union; Missouri Farmers Union; Missouri Rural Crisis Center; Montana Cattlemen’s Association; National Family Farm Coalition; North American Marine Alliance; Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance; Northeast Organic Farming Association – Connecticut; Northeast Organic Farming Association – Massachusetts; Northeast Organic Farming Association – New Hampshire; Northeast Organic Farming Association – New Jersey; Northeast Organic Farming Association – New York; Northeast Organic Farming Association – Vermont; Northern Plains Resource Council; Ohio Farmers Union; Pennsylvania Farmers Union; Powder River Basin Resource Council; R-CALF USA; Rural Coalition; Rural Vermont; Wisconsin Farmers Union; and the Women Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN).
“Farm policy has shifted away from ensuring farmers a fair price to one that sees agribusiness profit as its sole driver. This is especially true for the dairy sector,” said Jim Goodman, Co-President of the National Family Farm Coalition and retired dairy farmer. “Farmers and their customers need a return to common-sense farm policy that stops the endless cycle of consolidation, low prices, and overreliance on export markets. The Milk from Family Dairies Act is the best dairy legislation we’ve had in many years, and we urge Congress to support this bill before we lose any more U.S. dairy farms.”
“America cannot afford to lose another generation of family dairy farmers,” said Joe Maxwell, President, Farm Action Fund. “For too long, consolidation and unfair market conditions have pushed independent dairies out of business while concentrating power in the hands of a few. Senator Welch’s Milk from Family Dairies Act recognizes that family farmers deserve a fair shot and that strong rural communities depend on fair markets. Farm Action Fund proudly endorses this legislation.”
“Vermont’s dairy farmers, organic and conventional alike, deserve a fair price for their milk and need a dairy industry that offers a viable future for the next generation,” said Maddie Kempner, Policy & Organizing Director, NOFA-VT. “The Milk from Family Dairies Act offers a pathway out from under corporate consolidation and oversupply and toward a fairer future for all dairy farmers.”
“Dairy farmers are struggling through serious economic headwinds due to low prices, market volatility, and consolidation,” said Lorette Picciano, Executive Director, Rural Coalition. “We support the Milk from Family Dairies Act of 2026, and are grateful to Senator Welch for advancing real solutions through this marker bill, which would establish a Dairy Market Stabilization Program. By restoring competition in the sector and investing in infrastructure, this bill brings real solutions to the table, especially for small- and mid-sized dairies.”
“Rural Vermont and its members have, over many years, worked to inform and support the Milk from Family Dairies Act,” said Graham Unangst-Rufenacht, Policy Director, Rural Vermont. “We have long supported some of its key provisions, such as a just pay price for farmers and measures that stabilize a volatile dairy market. We appreciate the work of different members of Vermont’s congressional delegation working so diligently on this bill – and with farmers – for many years. In particular, the offices of Senator Welch and Senator Sanders, as well as our coalition partners at the National Family Farm Coalition.”
Learn more about the Milk from Family Dairies Act.
Read and download the full bill text and view a section-by-section summary of the legislation.
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