Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stood before a large crowd at the 59th World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., and delivered a message dairy farmers have been waiting to hear: The Trump administration is “100%” behind American dairy, with record export growth, expanded trade deals and billions in new processing infrastructure signaling what she calls a “dairy renaissance.”
Standing before dairy farmers on Sept. 30 — exactly 167 years after Abraham Lincoln addressed the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society in what would be his only speech focused entirely on agriculture — Rollins invoked history to frame the stakes facing modern dairy.
“No other human occupation opened so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought, as does agriculture,” Rollins quoted from Lincoln’s 1859 address, delivered in the same state now hosting one of the world’s premier dairy events.
But Rollins didn’t stop at historical reverence; she elevates dairy’s challenges to an existential threat.
“If there is no farm security, if there is no food supply security, if there is no dairy security, if we continue to offshore the way that has happened under other administrations, we not only lose our farmers and ranchers, we lose freedom,” Rollins says. “And when we lose freedom here in America, we become like every other country in the world. The American dream will no longer exist.”
It was a remarkable escalation — framing dairy policy not as agricultural economics but as national survival. And it set the tone for a session that would acknowledge both unprecedented opportunity and uncomfortable contradictions.
In a wide-ranging Q&A media interview session that tackled everything from beef imports to labor shortages, Rollins also acknowledged the “vexing policy challenges” facing an industry caught between consumer affordability demands and producer profitability — particularly when it comes to beef-on-dairy income that’s become a lifeline for struggling operations.
“The future could not be brighter,” Rollins says. Yet her answers revealed an administration still navigating complex trade-offs between helping consumers and protecting the farmers who feed them.
The Big Announcements
During the media session, Rollins made two major announcements demonstrating the administration’s commitment to dairy’s future.
1. Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Opens Monday
Starting Oct. 7, dairy producers can enroll in the 2027 Dairy Margin Coverage program, which Rollins emphasizes is “now stronger than ever” thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut Act.
Key notes include:
- Program reauthorized through 2031.
- Additional 1 million pounds of milk eligible for higher Tier 1 coverage.
- 25% reduced premium costs for producers securing coverage through 2031.
- Over 13,500 dairy farmers have participated through 2026.
- Total payments exceeding $98 million nationwide, including $23 million in Wisconsin alone.
“We know that’s a very, very important program for our dairy farmers,” Rollins says, highlighting the protection it provides “against factors outside their control.”
Enrollment runs through Dec. 18, 2026. Rollins encourages producers to begin applications immediately.
2. Millions for Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives
Rollins announced nearly $13 million in funding for Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) initiatives across four regional centers, including the University of Wisconsin.
In an impromptu moment referencing a conversation she’d just had with a UW administrator, Rollins emphasized the program’s critical role for smaller operations.
“The difference that program makes to our small and medium-sized dairy farmers just cannot be overstated,” Rollins says. “In fact, it is that program over the last year or so that has kept many dozens of them in business.”
The four DBI centers serve:
- Wisconsin — 11-state region
- Tennessee — Regional hub
- Vermont — Northeast region
- California — Western region
The funding represents a continued commitment to supporting small and medium-sized dairy operations as the industry undergoes rapid transformation and consolidation pressures.
Producers Press Forward
Rollins closed her World Dairy Expo appearance with both a promise and a challenge.
“My commitment to you is, we’ll never stop fighting for you,” she told the crowd. But she also makes clear that Washington alone can’t secure dairy’s future.
“I can only tell this story so much. You are the ones who can tell the story,” she says, urging producers to engage with elected officials at every level. “There is no one more compelling than a farmer who walks in and talks to an elected official about the challenges they are facing.”
It was a fitting end to a session that celebrated dairy’s moment while acknowledging the hard work — both on farms and in policy arenas — required to sustain it. The dairy renaissance Rollins described is real, but as her candid answers about beef imports and labor revealed, it’s also fragile.
For dairy farmers navigating 2026’s challenges, the message was clear: Help is coming, support is growing, but the battle for dairy’s future requires producers to stay engaged, stay vocal and keep fighting alongside the administration that’s promised to fight for them.
