REGULATORY REGISTER
Animal Health
NMPF, FARM Focus on New World Screwworm Prevention
With screwworm now reported to be 70 miles south of a Mexican-U.S. border state, efforts to protect cattle and prevent spread are ratcheting up. NMPF and the National Dairy FARM Program are monitoring the situation closely. Three top USDA experts led a discussion of the latest updates, detection methods and more during a one-hour live webinar Sept. 22 hosted by NMPF and the National Dairy FARM Program.
Dr. Christopher Needham, deputy director of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) provided an overview of the screwworm outbreak followed by USDA’s five-pronged plan, with ongoing efforts to increase the Sterile Insect Technique, import requirements, surveillance and trapping of screwworm. Dr. Rosemary Sifford, deputy administrator for APHIS, also joined the call to discuss the agency’s efforts to update the NWS Strategy Plan. Chief Veterinary Officer for FDA, Dr. Tristan Colonius, rounded out the webinar with information on animal drugs for New World screwworm.
Producers should continue to enforce biosecurity measures on farms to bolster efforts in mitigating the spread.
USDA Shares New World Screwworm Response Playbook
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released Oct. 17 a draft of its New World Screwworm (NWS) Response Playbook. The playbook outlines key approaches, resources, and tools to implement animal health response activities in the event of a U.S. detection of screwworm.
NMPF participated in two stakeholder dialogues that were used to help inform USDA in developing the draft New World screwworm playbook. APHIS will continue to gather feedback from states and industry to help ensure operational useability and alignment with field practices. NMPF will submit feedback to USDA after careful review of the document, and members are encouraged to reach out to NMPF with any questions or suggestions.
USDA’s new draft New World screwworm response playbook is geared toward animal health officials and disease response teams, delineating the steps needed to mitigate spread and to communicate in the event of an infestation. NMPF sent a Member Alert Aug. 22, How to Protect Your Dairy from New World Screwworm, which outlines some basics about the pest and useful tips for producers.
H5N1 Dairy Cases Continue Decline
The National Milk Testing Strategy facilitates comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds. Ongoing testing and surveillance activities continue to demonstrate the absence of H5N1 in dairy cattle, with only one new case confirmed in October.
Both USDA and industry continue to support the rapid development and timely approval of an H5N1 vaccine for dairy cattle. NMPF created an H5N1 Vaccine Working Group to help inform about potential H5N1 vaccination strategies for dairy cattle which may include target populations, vaccination protocols, surveillance frameworks, and communication needs for stakeholders.
NMPF Seeks Feedback on Secure Milk Supply Plan
Limiting animal and animal product movement is one strategy to control the spread of animal diseases. The Secure Milk Supply (SMS) Plan aims to support business continuity while not spreading disease. It was created because the dairy industry recognized how a “stop movement” of raw milk for a contagious animal disease would affect their business. The SMS Plan is a tool to use when cattle are affected by movement controls but not infected with foot and mouth disease (FMD) or a similar contagious animal disease.
The SMS Plan aims to help producers:
• Develop contingency plans for interrupted movement;
• Limit exposure to their herd through enhanced biosecurity;
• Learn how to find early signs of disease;
• Request an outbreak movement permit from State Officials for raw milk (if required) and healthy animals going to harvest or another premises; and
• Continue to supply safe and wholesome milk to consumers.
The first SMS Plan was created by a group of dairy farmers, processors, milk haulers, veterinarians, disease and biosecurity experts at universities, state and federal animal health officials. The SMS Plan was last updated in 2017, but both the dairy industry and disease response plans have changed since then. Recognizing this, NMPF assembled a stakeholder group in 2025 to propose updates. The SMS Plan development and updates were funded by USDA.
The SMS Plan updates include how to safely move raw milk and colostrum for animal feed and include new information on semen and embryos. It’s expanding beyond FMD to include “similar contagious diseases” like highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). This “unexpected” contagious disease spread to dairy cattle in 17 states, affecting animal health and business continuity. Updated resources for biosecurity are underway. Simplified movement guidance permit criteria are included. This broader set of preparedness tools helps the dairy industry and ultimately, consumers of American dairy products.
NMPF and the stakeholder group are seeking input on the proposed changes to the SMS Plan. Join a webinar, watch a recording of the changes, and submit comments by Dec. 20. A feedback form will be available soon on the National Dairy FARM Program website.
More information on FMD and the SMS Plan is available at www.securemilk.org
Labeling & Standards
NMPF Comments Push Back on Standards of Identity Revocation
NMPF submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration Sept. 15 regarding the agency’s proposal to revoke 18 Standards of Identity (SOIs) for dairy products, saying four of them remain necessary.
NMPF disagreed with FDA’s conclusion that the standards are no longer necessary to promote honesty and fair dealing for Acidified Sour Cream; Cream Cheese with Other Foods; Pasteurized Blended Cheese with Fruits, Vegetables, or Meats; and Pasteurized Process Cheese with Fruit, Vegetables, or Meats.
NMPF agreed that SOIs should be eliminated when they are made redundant by other standards or regulations, or if the product is no longer in the market—FDA’s rationale for the 18 revocations. Most of the dairy product SOIs in the agency’s proposal do fall under one of those two categories. However, each of the four exceptions called out are actively produced by NMPF members and sold across the country, making it necessary for NMPF to speak out on behalf of its members.
FDA established in 1939 the standards slated to be eliminated to protect consumers by ensuring that foods labeled with a specific name, such as “milk,” meet certain expectations of ingredients, characteristics, and processing.
NMPF said in its comments that SOIs are as important today, if not more important, as when they were created to keep nutritionally inferior plant-based imitation dairy products in the marketplace from deceiving consumers.
FDA’s initial proposal is part of a larger agency effort to review, and in some cases eliminate, hundreds of SOIs, including those for all dairy products.
FDA May Update Formula Standards
NMPF responded to an FDA request for information in comments filed Sept. 11, highlighting key considerations for FDA to keep in mind as it updates standards for both the types of nutrients and specifications for those nutrients in infant formula.
In the comments, NMPF encouraged FDA to consider criteria based not only on nutrient quantity but also on source, structural composition, and bioavailability—factors that are essential to the nutritional adequacy of infant formulas and to better align with the composition of breast milk. NMPF also urged FDA to keep its original timeline to sunset this year the temporary infant formula enforcement discretion program—which was enacted in 2022 to help alleviate the U.S. infant formula shortage, but which exclusively benefited foreign-produced infant formula.
Nutrition
NMPF Urges Caution on UPFs
NMPF filed comments Oct. 23 in response to USDA and FDA’s request for information as the agencies explore options for creating a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods.
Researchers have found links between the consumption of highly processed foods and a range of negative health outcomes. However, more research is needed and there is currently no standard for what amount of processing would make a food “ultra-processed.” The FDA and USDA are attempting to bridge the gap by creating a uniform definition, which would allow for consistency in research and policy.
Because of the processing techniques used for some dairy foods like flavored yogurts, flavored milk, cheeses, and powdered dairy products, the way ultra processed foods are ultimately defined could affect how these products can be marketed, and whether or not they will be included in federally funded programs such as SNAP, WIC or school meals programs.
In its comments, NMPF urged USDA and FDA to use caution when developing any definition of UPFs, highlighting that previous attempts and currently available UPF classification systems have failed to account for nutrient density and affordability. “If the administration moves forward with developing a definition, it must be developed carefully to avoid misclassification of nutrient dense foods and recognize that not all foods being processed are equal,” the comments said.
NMPF also urged the administration to exempt all dairy foods from any future definition or “ultra-processed” classification, based on decades of research supporting dairy’s health benefits in American diets.
MAHA Strategy Supports Dairy as NMPF Urges Whole Milk Action
The formal release of the Make America Health Again Commission’s report on Sept. 9 gave NMPF a chance to tout dairy’s critical place in nutrition and the science behind milk’s benefits.
“The MAHA Commission’s Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy recognizes what the latest science indicates and what we’ve long been saying: that getting whole milk back into schools and boosting dairy in diets helps meet America’s nutritional needs, and that it is critical to improving the health of our nation’s children,” NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud said in a statement upon the report’s release.
“To further assist in dairy’s positive contributions to a healthier nation, we also urge Congress to pass the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would provide schools the opportunity to serve the nutritious whole and 2% milk that school kids love and codify into law the endorsement given in the administration’s report.”
The MAHA strategy, aimed toward reducing childhood chronic illnesses, highlighted upcoming efforts to better align federal nutrition programs with scientific evidence, including overwhelming evidence showing the benefits of dairy at all fat levels.
Sustainability & the Environment
Ag Coalition Releases PFAS Recommendations
The PFAS and Agriculture Policy Workgroup, an agriculture coalition in which NMPF is a member, released Sept. 16 the nation’s first comprehensive set of federal recommendations to address PFAS contamination of agricultural land.
The coalition is led by American Farmland Trust and includes 15 other farmer, commodity, conservation, and health groups, as well as state departments of agriculture. The group is calling for Congress and the executive branch to take pragmatic steps to address PFAS to protect farmers and their families, keep farms and ranches in business, maintain a safe national food supply, and safeguard farmland for future generations.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, are a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals. PFAS have been used in a wide range of industrial and household products for decades, and do not break down naturally. Since these “forever chemicals” are highly mobile in the environment, they can accumulate anywhere, including in soil, water, crops, livestock, wildlife, food, and the human body.
The workgroup recommendations aim to advance a wide range of nonpartisan, commonsense solutions.
NMPF has participated in the planning and development of the workgroup since it was formed in spring 2024, always noting that PFAS is primarily a water-contamination issue that only rarely affects dairy farms.
Trade & International
Jonker Honored as NMPF Represents U.S. Producers at World Dairy Summit
An NMPF delegation collaborated with counterparts on shared dairy priority areas including trade, animal welfare, the use of dairy terms, dairy promotion and other topics at the International Dairy Federation (IDF) World Dairy Summit, Oct. 20-23 in Santiago, Chile.
The summit marked the end of NMPF Chief Science Officer Jamie Jonker’s five-year term as chair of IDF’s Science Program Coordinating Committee. Jonker spoke at the IDF Forum session, which featured a review of IDF’s key projects this year and priorities for 2026.
Jonker also received an honorary IDF membership recognizing his tenure as SPCC chair and his contributions to the organization and to dairy globally. Jonker has “demonstrated remarkable leadership, guiding the Federation through numerous changes and challenges with purpose,” the IDF Board of Directors cited in its recognition.
NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud and NMPF Executive Vice Presidents Jaime Castaneda and Shawna Morris participated with U.S. Dairy Export Council and checkoff program leaders in bilateral meetings, including with the Indian Dairy Development Board, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Eucolait, European Dairy Association, Nestle, the Mexican dairy sector, and the Chilean dairy sector.
The meetings provided the opportunity to exchange information on developments in key markets of interest to the U.S. dairy industry and explore the potential for further work together on shared interests.
As a precursor to the summit itself, NMPF co-led a roundtable session of animal care programs around the world. Launched in Chicago during the summit hosted by the U.S. in 2023, the roundtable provides a valuable avenue for fostering information sharing and alignment steps by leading animal care programs such as FARM.
The annual gathering of more than 1,000 dairy industry professionals from around the world provides an opportunity to promote the U.S. industry and collaborate with global partners on the sector’s most significant trends and opportunities.
Trade Talks Reflect Dairy Priorities
The Trump administration has announced a series of new trade deals over the past few months that includes Malaysia, Cambodia, the European Union, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. A shift from traditional comprehensive trade agreements, the pacts were quickly negotiated and vary significantly in details announced to date.
A series of wins in trade agreements announced Oct. 26 with Malaysia and Cambodia are those most notable for dairy exporters. Serving as confidential cleared advisors to the U.S. Trade Representative’s negotiating teams, members of NMPF’s trade policy team and Dairy Farmers of America’s Michael Lichte helped shape the agreements for both markets that remove virtually all tariffs on U.S. dairy products and introduce commitments to forestall a range of various nontariff barriers, including:
• Gold-standard commitments to protect common cheese names like “parmesan;”
Recognition of the U.S. dairy regulatory system and certification processes; and Commitments to streamline or forego facility registration procedures for U.S. dairy processing plants.
The United States currently has a tariff disadvantage in both markets, including up to 15% additional tariffs in Cambodia when compared to Oceania suppliers. Malaysia has
much lower tariff barriers, but the agreement eliminates virtually all remaining tariffs, some of which range up to 20% on certain dairy categories. The Malaysian agreement also establishes a U.S.-specific quota for fluid milk.
Details on a trade deal with the European Union unveiled Aug. 21 include some limited additional dairy tariff concessions through new tariff rate quotas (TRQs) totaling 20,000 metric tons. The dairy tariff codes covered by the new access are limited to a subset of products including lactose, anhydrous milkfat, and select cheeses, including cheddar. The agreement also includes a quota for food preparations that include dairy blends and a commitment to streamline dairy certification. Improved access to the EU market is a key priority NMPF has been championing with the U.S. government throughout this year.
The trade frameworks with Indonesia and Thailand stand out as a particularly notable for U.S. dairy exporters with both countries committing to eliminate virtually all tariffs on U.S. goods, recognize U.S. regulatory authorities and agree to take measures to protect common names like “parmesan”. These changes could meaningfully boost dairy exports to two markets that have historically favored Oceania suppliers benefiting from the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) free trade agreement with New Zealand and Australia.
While details on them remain limited, the Philippines and Vietnam frameworks are also promising, reportedly eliminating tariffs on U.S. products and thereby improving competitiveness in key markets where the United States is at a competitive disadvantage to Oceania and/or European suppliers. Southeast Asia remains a major area of NMPF’s focus in advocating for a more level playing field for U.S. dairy exporters.
In contrast, the provisions to date in the agreements with the United Kingdom
and Japan do not appear to include dairy. Negotiations are ongoing still and NMPF is advocating for further access improvements in both markets. In addition, the United States continues negotiations with South Korea, but U.S. dairy exporters have to date reported very few challenges in that market given the preexisting U.S.-Korea free trade agreement.
Negotiations with China are ongoing as well, with tariffs and retaliatory measures still in flux. U.S. dairy exports face 2025 retaliatory duties ranging of 10%, a reduction from 20% for most dairy products in a tariff détente reached on Oct. 30.
NMPF continues to provide U.S. negotiators with detailed input on dairy’s priorities and challenges for each of these markets to inform the trade talks taking place.
NMPF Advances USMCA Dairy Efforts
As the United States begins the mandated 2026 joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), NMPF and USDEC are working to ensure that outstanding dairy concerns are prioritized in the process while emphasizing the importance of the trade deal for U.S. dairy producers. NMPF and USDEC submitted formal comments Nov. 3 to the U.S. Trade Representative detailing three ongoing challenges:
The Canadian government’s administration of its USMCA dairy tariff rate quotas that is largely reserved for Canadian processors who have little incentive to import and zero access for retailers, restaurants and other stakeholders throughout the supply chain.
Stem the flow of artificially low-priced nonfat milk solid exports from Canada that are a clear circumvention of the USMCA dairy protein export disciplines for skim milk powder and milk protein concentrates.
Failure of the Mexican government to fully implement its USMCA commitments to protect common cheese names like “parmesan.”
While underscoring support for the overall agreement and particularly the open trade it allows for with our largest export market, Mexico, NMPF and USDEC call on the U.S. government in the comments to leverage the formal review process to address the outstanding concerns.
Other NMPF News
Summer Internship Applications Now Open
NMPF is offering a 10–12week summer internship in the Washington D.C. metro area. This internship offers students the unique opportunity to better understand the intersection of U.S. dairy industry policy, regulatory affairs, and trade. Interns will have the opportunity to learn from NMPF’s expert staff, covering areas including government relations, regulatory affairs, trade, communications, membership services and the National Dairy FARM Program. More information and the application can be found here. Applications close Dec. 31.
