Organic dairy farmers are challenging their required participation in the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program through a series of federal lawsuits, arguing the system does not reflect how organic milk is produced or marketed.
Members of the Coalition for Organic Dairy Exemption (CODE), including Aurora Organic Dairy, Horizon Organic Dairy and CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley, have recently filed three federal court actions questioning the constitutionality of including organic milk in FMMOs. A separate class action claim seeks compensation for payments farmers say were collected over the past six years without providing a return.
At the center of the filings is a request to exempt organic dairy from the FMMO system, rather than dismantle the program entirely.
“The federal government has locked in an updated dairy pricing regulation that actively harms organic dairy farmers,” says Elvin Ranck, an organic dairy farmer plaintiff from Pennsylvania. “It systematically siphons revenue generated from organic dairy sales and redistributes it to non-organic dairy producers and their partners.
He continues: “This is effectively a government taking. CROPP Cooperative, of which I am an owner-member, pays millions of dollars each year into the Federal Milk Marketing Order pools, yet those dollars never return to organic farmers like me, and under the current system, they never will. At some point, we have to stand up for ourselves.”
Separate Supply Chains, Shared Pricing Rules
The lawsuits argue organic and conventional milk are treated the same under FMMO pricing and pooling rules, even though they operate under different production systems.
Organic milk cannot be intermingled with conventional milk under federal regulations and typically moves through separate supply chains. Organic production also comes with higher feed, certification and handling costs, along with additional processing requirements.
While organic milk represents about 3% of total U.S. milk production, it accounts for roughly 7% of fluid milk sales. More than 10% of U.S. dairy farms are certified organic.
Plaintiffs argue the current structure pulls revenue out of organic milk checks instead of supporting investment in that segment.
Previous Attempts Through USDA
According to CODE, the legal filings follow multiple attempts to address the issue through USDA’s administrative process.
The group submitted proposals in 2015 that were not advanced and presented organic-specific recommendations during the 2023 national FMMO hearing that were not considered. Concerns raised in post-hearing comments in 2024 were not reflected in the final rule, and administrative challenges filed in 2025 were opposed.
“USDA, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, has spent more than a decade protecting a Depression-era pricing system that forces organic dairy to subsidize conventional products, while refusing every administrative avenue that might have resolved the dispute without litigation,” CODE members said in a press release. “There is a growing movement in this country, across party lines, that wants to know where food comes from and how it’s produced. Organic farmers help make that possible. The federal government should not be making it harder for us to survive, and it has had every opportunity to fix this.”
What the Lawsuits Would Change
The lawsuits emphasize that the goal is not to eliminate FMMOs, but to remove organic milk from a pricing structure plaintiffs say was not designed for it.
“Federal law already recognizes organic as different. USDA’s own organic standards treat our milk as a distinct product with distinct requirements,” CODE members said. “We are not asking to tear down the FMMOs. We are asking FMMOs to reflect a distinction that the law already makes – and that consumers already understand.”
If successful, the cases could change how organic milk is handled within federal pricing orders and whether producers remain subject to pooling requirements moving forward.
