We partner with Ever.Ag to provide highlights of weekly dairy market activities, along with a summary of key market indicators.
European cheese prices declined this week, narrowing the gap between EU and US prices. US cheese rose to $1.65 per pound, while the EU price dropped to $1.81. Competitive prices on the global market have led to record US cheese exports to start 2026, but next week’s release of the March trade data will give a peak at more recent export sales.
The typical process in a non-budget year for most legislative committees is to assemble a “supplemental” budget bill and/or an omnibus policy bill, or a combination of the two, to make needed changes and adjustments to various agency programs or to address new topics that have arisen since the biennial budget was passed the year prior.
The Senate Agriculture Committee has produced both a supplemental budget bill and a policy bill that address mostly technical updates and modest changes to various Department of Agriculture programs. The Senate bill also extends the sunset of the Farmer-Lender Medication program. The Senate Agriculture Committee’s policy bill has passed the Senate, and the finance bill is on hold with the Senate Finance Committee because the House Agriculture Committee has not produced a companion bill. The reason the House Agriculture Committee could not agree on a final bill is due to a stand-off on including a statewide prohibition on the use and sale of a herbicide containing paraquat dichloride that is alleged to be connected to Parkinson’s Disease.
The biggest news from the legislature this past week came out of the Senate Tax Committee, which reported out its tax bill on Thursday. The bill would adjust the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit and eliminate the cap on available credits and funding.
The Senate bill also contains some “conformity” provisions for state tax policy relative to changes made by Congress in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”). The conformity provisions are modest compared to the full list of OBBBA conformity items, and are also less generous than the Governor's tax bill proposal. The measures include bonus depreciation with the 80% addback, enhancements of the dependent care and dependent care assistance program credits, and the controlled group limitation on deductions for compensation paid to top executives. Not included are the increased Section 179 expensing deduction or the full expensing of research and experimental expenditures. The pass-through entity tax conformity provision passed the Senate Tax Committee earlier this year and awaits action on the Senate floor, or will likely be added to the Senate tax bill as a floor amendment.
Other provisions in the Senate tax bill include $100 million of one-time property tax relief through a 12% increase in the Homestead Market Value Credit. Progress on a companion tax bill in the evenly-divided House Tax Committee has been slow.
Edge encouraged by House passage of farm bill
Source: Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, the second largest dairy cooperative in the country based on milk volume, applauds the passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 in the U.S. House today. The bill passed on a bipartisan vote of 224 to 200.
USDA issues second supplemental disaster payment to farmers, extends program application deadline to August 12
Source: USDA
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is maximizing disaster assistance support for producers by issuing a second Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) payment to eligible producers who have approved program applications for losses due to natural disasters in calendar years 2023 and 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already provided $6.7 billion in SDRP payments to eligible producers. Additionally, USDA is extending the program deadline to give producers and FSA more time to address any program application changes that could impact payments. The original April 30 deadline has been extended to Aug. 12, 2026, for SDRP Stage 1 and Stage 2.
The great rebalancing: Why 2026 milk prices are defying the supply tsunami
Source: Dairy Herd Management
2026 milk prices are defying a massive supply surge as a revolution in protein demand and steady exports create a great rebalancing for U.S. dairy producers navigating market volatility.
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