Rep. Tony Wied Questions Sec. Brooke Rollins on US Dairy Market Access and Farm Transitions

Dairy Market Access and Trade Barriers

• 🇺🇸 Representative Tony Wied highlighted the critical importance of the dairy industry to his constituents in Wisconsin, ranking fourth in national dairy production with a $14 billion economic impact.
• 🇨🇦 Wied expressed concern that Canada, a neighbor and trading partner, is not upholding its USMCA obligations regarding dairy market access, intentionally limiting imports and offloading products at artificially low prices.
• 🎯 The Congressman urged Secretary Rollins to commit to working with inter-agency partners to ensure Wisconsin dairy farmers fully benefit from the USMCA, especially with the upcoming review.

Support for Farm Transitions

• 🚜 Wied raised concerns about multi-generational farms facing challenges like limited capital, land availability, and economic uncertainty, which threaten successful farm transitions.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Secretary Rollins acknowledged the widespread fear among farmers about passing their operations to the next generation.
• 💡 The USDA has launched a "small family farm initiative" and highlighted policy items like the elimination of the death tax for smaller farms and additional tax cuts as crucial support mechanisms.

Dairy Manufacturing Data and Pricing

• 📊 Wied and Secretary Rollins agreed on the need for better data across the board regarding milk pricing, with a bipartisan bill co-sponsored to require USDA dairy manufacturing cost surveys every two years.
• ✅ Both expressed enthusiasm for implementing this data collection process quickly once enacted, emphasizing its importance for all stakeholders.
• 🤝 The discussion underscored a shared commitment to supporting the dairy industry through trade enforcement, farm transition initiatives, and improved data transparency.