Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative recently joined over 300 other agricultural organizations calling for swift action by the House of Representatives in moving the farm bill forward. In early March, the House Agriculture Committee approved the legislation with bipartisan action, with a vote of 34 to 17.
Edge and other organizations are urging House members to take timely and bipartisan action on the bill to finalize the remaining portions of the long-awaited farm bill.
“We are asking the House to take action on finalizing the farm bill, which is long overdue,” says Heidi Fischer, president of the Edge board. “It has been nearly 8 years since a comprehensive farm bill has been passed. Much has changed in our industry since then. We need a comprehensive farm bill in place to provide certainty among farmers in these challenging times.”
The House is expected to take up the farm bill next week. If passed by the House, the next step will be action by the Senate.
“We need our representatives to pass a bipartisan supported bill that addresses the lingering unknowns of programs farmers count on,” Fischer says. “For dairy farmers, the farm bill is the backbone of federal dairy policy. It’s important to pass the Farm, Food & National Security Act of 2026, which will give dairy farmers certainty, stability, and a workable safety net in an unusually volatile market.”
Included in the current House version is permanent authorization of the Dairy Forward Pricing Program, an important inclusion Edge brought forth to the House Ag Committee.
“We are pleased to see permanent authorization for this program included,” Fischer says. “Farmers use forward pricing to stabilize revenue for a portion of production, particularly in volatile markets where feed, labor, and energy costs are unpredictable.”
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