In the halls of Congress, silence is often mistaken for satisfaction. This was the sobering message delivered by Gregg Doud, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation during a recent panel discussion on the dairy outlook at the High Plains Dairy Conference in Amarillo, Texas last week. Despite the pressing need for agricultural labor reform and immigration solutions, Doud warns the message isn’t reaching the ears that matter most.

The conversation, moderated by Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, highlighted a critical gap between the industry’s needs and Washington’s perception. Despite the pressing need for agricultural labor reform and immigration solutions, Doud warns the message isn’t reaching the ears that matter most.

“I’m talking to dozens of senators about this already,” Doud notes, recounting conversations where lawmakers told him they simply aren’t hearing about ag labor from their constituents. “If that member of Congress doesn’t hear from you, he’s just going to go hang out with the guys he does hear from.”

The panel, which included Michael Dykes, DVM, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, emphasized while national organizations can “raise hell” in D.C., the real power lies in the home district.

The recording of the latest CLA Safety Group webinar is now available on CLA's YouTube channel. The meeting highlighted the importance of preventing heat illness and assessing related risks on livestock operations as well as silage pile safety.

Thank you to our guest speakers Dr. Diego Manriquez, Colorado State University AgNext, and Dr. David Douphrate, Texas A&M University School of Public Health for sharing their time and expertise in order to present this important information for livestock producers and their families and employees.

View the video HERE

As the dairy industry transitioned into 2026, the 2025 USDA dairy statistics confirmed a trend that many have already observed: the U.S. dairy herd is expanding in both size and efficiency. The growth has resulted in a robust surplus of milk aacross the country. While the roster of the top 10 dairy-producing states remained largely, stable, a significant shift occurred at the top of the leaderboard. Idaho officially overtook Texas to claim the number three spot in total milk production. This milestone for the Gem State was driven by aggressive expansion, as Idaho led the nation in the number of new cows added to its herd compared to 2024.

The ”Top 10” list also saw a change in its composition with the arrival of Iowa. The Hawkeye State’s recent dairy growth has paid dividends, earning it a firm spot at number nine in national milk production rankings.

On a consumer level the sheer volume of production reached new heights. In 2025, the U.S. dairy cows produced a near-record of 678 pounds of milk for every citizen in the country. This per-capital surge was most visible in the Upper Midwest and the West. Idaho remains the outlier in this category, jumping by more than 400 pounds per resident. Meanwhile, in a surprising shift for the regional hierarchy, South Dakota climbed to the number two spot, unseating Wisconsin from its perennial second-place position. Both South Dakota and Wisconsin are now in an elite bracket, producing more than 5,000 pounds of milk per state resident.

A Win for Producers and Property Rights

Colorado farmers and ranchers won a significant victory this legislative session when Senate Bill 26-065 was killed in the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. SB 26-065 threatened to impose costly bureaucracy and undermine growers’ decision-making on agronomic inputs. It stalled in committee when two state Democratic members joined Republicans to reject the bill by a 5-2 vote. showing that agricultural realities transcended partisan lines in the face of overwhelming producer opposition. The controversial proposal would have required farmers to obtain state-mandated third-party approval before purchasing or planting seeds treated with systemic insecticides.

AGPROfessionals’ Ag Community Outreach

Through strategic outreach on AGPROfessionals’ social media outlets, website, and newsletter, we helped raise awareness of SB 26-065’s real-world impact. Our post on the topic resonated strongly within the farming and ranching community, reaching over 70,000 Colorado residents involved in agriculture.

Along with AGPROfessionals’ 30,000-subscriber newsletter reach and more than 1.4 million website visitors over the year, our organization played a key role in shaping public discussion and ensuring producers’ voices were heard at the Capitol.

When it comes to U.S. dairy, few rivalries are as productive — or as close — as the one currently unfolding between Idaho and Texas. For the past two years, the title of the nation’s third-largest milk-producing state has been a moving target, traded back and forth by margins so thin they can be measured in hours of production.

In 2024, Texas made history by unseating Idaho to claim the No. 3 spot. But the victory was short-lived. According to the latest USDA data released on February 20, 2025, Idaho has officially moved back into the bronze-medal position. The Gem State’s 350 dairy operations produced 18.26 billion pounds of milk in 2025, narrowly edging out Texas, which recorded 18.21 billion pounds.

The margin of 51 million pounds might sound substantial, but in the context of global dairy markets, it is a sliver. As Rick Naerebout, CEO of Idaho Dairymen’s Association, points out, that difference is equal to roughly one day’s worth of total milk production in Idaho.

“They passed us last year by about one-third of one day’s production, and we passed them back by just shy of one day’s production,” Naerebout says. “It’s kind of fun to have this back and forth, but really, we’re not talking big differences between three and four. We’re neck and neck.”

Direct Action Everywhere, known as DXE, has launched a new campaign in California that has raised significant concern and merits attention from animal agriculture stakeholders.

The organization recently announced it is “training investigators” across California with the stated goal of mobilizing action against the state’s livestock sector. According to its public materials, participants are being trained to fly drones, film allegedly poor farm conditions, navigate public databases, and develop plans for local campaigns.

Last month, DXE upped the ante by releasing an interactive online map identifying what it characterizes as every “factory farm and slaughterhouse” in California. The map reportedly includes facility locations, estimated animal numbers, associated brands, and allegations related to environmental impact. The launch was paired with an “investigation” targeting a cattle operation and an event involving drone use and reporting alleged violations to law enforcement.

Sound familiar? If you’ve been following activism for a while, this is probably ringing a bell.

In 2020, DXE members launched Project Counterglow, a nationwide initiative that similarly compiled farm locations into a public-facing database. That project encouraged activists to gather and organize information about animal agriculture operations across the country. At the time, the Alliance raised concerns with law enforcement. The feedback was clear: When information is publicly sourced, there are limited avenues for action unless it can be directly tied to criminal conduct.

The Colorado River is the lifeline of their operations for agricultural producers across the West. It irrigates approximately 5.5 million acres of farmland and supports rural communities across seven states.

As the current federal management guidelines are set to expire in 2026, decisions being made right now will shape the future of Western agriculture for decades. Here’s a look at what’s happening and how those decisions could impact agricultural producers going forward.

The Foundation: The Colorado River Compact

Management of the river starts with the Colorado River Compact of 1922, which divided the river among:

• Upper Basin States: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
• Lower Basin States: Arizona, California, Nevada

1922 was an exceptionally wet year, and writers of the Compact expected the Colorado River to produce 16.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of water. Each basin was allocated 7.5 million acre-feet (MAF) of water annually, with the Lower Basin given permission to use an extra 1 MAF. Today, the river produces closer to 12.4 MAF annually, which is well below the 16.5 MAF expected in 1922. In other words, more water was promised than the river generally supplies.

Call to Action from Idaho Cattle Association:

H587 HAS PASSED THE HOUSE AND WILL NEXT BE HEARD IN THE SENATE RESOURCES & CONSERVATION COMMITTEE ON 2/23.

"This proposed legislation adds language to 2024’s Rangeland Improvement Act. While revenues aren’t received from General Funds, the legislature didn’t authorize continuous spending from any source. This clarification allows for available funding to be continuously authorized, so as not to impede project prioritization. You can read the bill text here.

Background: H0468, the Rangeland Improvement Act, enacted the ability for Idaho’s State Department of Agriculture to collaborate with the Grazing Advisory Board, in an effort to source funding for rangeland improvement projects. Funds for said projects would come from the rangeland improvement account (to be established as part of the act), other undistributed funds, or a combination there of. The rangeland improvement account would consist of moneys received by the state from a variety of sources including grants, fees, or appropriations, both state & federal, as well as other grants from private foundations. However, the legislation did not authorize continuous spending of sourced funds! H587 simply allows for continuous authorization of the use of procured funds, so that projects can maintain a timely schedule and completion.