EDGERTON, Wisc. (RFD-TV) — Dairy farmers are holding steady right now as a challenging year pushes on. One Wisconsin co-op manager tells us it has been discouraging to watch producers work harder each year, for less and less profit.
“When you put it in perspective of what all the rest of us do for a job, and they do for a job, it doesn’t make any sense that, if you get better at your job, you should make more money,” said Mick Homb with the FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative. “That just isn’t the way it is. All of our farmers, our components, in the last four or five years, butterfat, protein, other solids, and somatic cell have all improved as the farmers have gotten better, yet you’re still turning around, and we’re having the prices that we had 30–40 years ago. It makes no sense.”
Homb says it is hard right now for dairy producers trying to run a successful business and says most are entering a tunnel with no light coming from the other side.
However, U.S. dairy industry leaders say the outlook is improving as new plants and upgrades come online nationwide. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) — which represents dairy processors and brands — and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the policy voice for dairy farmers and cooperatives, point to about $11 billion in announced or in-progress projects.
Those investments expand processing capacity and fund product innovation, allowing U.S. dairy to capture more value at home and abroad.
The leaders highlight core strengths — scale, efficiency, and sustainability efforts — while noting headwinds. Labor shortages on farms and in plants remain a constraint, and trade uncertainty complicates export planning. NMPF’s chair, who also leads Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, underscored the need for immigration and workforce solutions so cows are cared for and milked under today’s standards.
Even with challenges, the message is steady: capacity growth and coordinated advocacy can support stronger milk checks. Leadership transitions at producer groups are framed as renewal — with processors and farmers aligned to keep margins and markets moving.
