Grassroots in Action
National Farmers Union advocates for policies that protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and their communities. Each year, farmer delegates gather at the National Convention and approve the official policy of the organization.
2026 Policy Book
Each year, family farmers and ranchers gather at the National Convention to review, update and approve the official policy of the organization.
2026 Special Orders of Business
Family Farmers, the Farm Crisis, and the Future of Food and Farm Policy
Family farmers and ranchers are facing immense financial pressure that is increasingly reminiscent of the 1980s farm crisis. Several years of record-high input costs and low commodity prices, combined with recent trade disruptions that have upended export markets and increased costs at home, are pushing many farmers and ranchers to the economic brink. We find ourselves again at the precipice of the next era of agricultural policy.
NFU calls on Congress to pass comprehensive agricultural legislation that not only addresses a safety net for agricultural products, but supports communities, builds jobs, and establishes long term markets. By taking a holistic approach to sustaining agricultural communities, agricultural policy can promote more resiliency and increase honest economic wealth for our communities.
We support the following:
Keeping Farmers on the Land
- Immediate moratorium on foreclosure of farm loans and comprehensive farm credit reform
- Passage of a new law to address market consolidation in our communities and decentralize production, processing, and marketing
- Increase of voluntary conservation programs and eligible acres to convert agricultural land to a perennial cover
- Ensuring farmers and ranchers have access to healthcare in their area and affordable health insurance
- Technical assistance for training, farm transition, and business planning for the next generation
- Government programs and policies that assist in agricultural land identification and transition to nonfamilial beginning farmers and ranchers.
- Tax policies that favor operator ownership and incentivize land transfer to beginning farmers over investor ownership.
- The creation of a comprehensive debt restructuring initiative, modeled after the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Creating Competitive Markets
- Streamlined regulations for the establishment of meat processing facilities for meat sales
- Facilitation of local and regional food procurement and distribution, specifically for institutions, food hubs, food cooperatives, and independent grocery stores
- Global trade agreements to provide international markets for US commodities • Global climate agreement which prioritizes the use of climate resilient agricultural products
- Federal prioritization of purchasing culturally appropriate food based on locality and regionality rather than solely on lowest cost
- Farm programs and policies which encourage and incentivize more diverse crop production and the inclusion of livestock in operations
- Increase in federal purchase of local food for nutrition assistance, and ‘Food is Medicine’ programs.
Safety Net for Modern Agriculture
- Economic assistance for farmers and ranchers, which provides the most complete support for family sized agricultural operations in times of economic distress.
- Programs that promote diverse communities of farmers and ranchers and do not promote the consolidation of agricultural products or support infrastructure including machinery, financing, and processing.
National Farmers Union is uniquely positioned to lead a cross industry, multi-commodity, and conservation minded coalition to come to real solutions for our agricultural communities. We as National Farmers Union must take on the responsibilities of being engaged in the democratic process from the local to the national level.
Family Farming and the Roots of Our Democracy
We believe our grassroots are the anchor that holds us together, not only as an organization but as a society. For farmers to have a voice, we must be active and vocal in our local communities, at the national level, and everywhere in between. Farmers – all farmers – must come together to cooperate and be heard if we are to best set public policy. To sustain our democracy, we must engage in conversations and deliberations with one another, especially when we disagree. Those conversations help make informed decisions when making policy that is effective for farmers and ranchers.
Much like we strive to be excellent stewards of land and water, plants and animals, and all other resources entrusted to our care, we must give equal care to the stewardship of our democracy.
We must encourage each other to engage locally in our democratic processes, whether it is participating in school board meetings, running for local elections, or exercising the right to vote. Cultivating community is as much a part of the democratic process as exercising our civic duty. Local chapters must lean into creating spaces for neighbors to connect and support one another now more than ever. Farmers Union members have the incredible power to build, unite, and engage communities across the United States.
To paraphrase the late USDA Secretary and U.S. Vice President Henry Wallace, “If we put our trust in the common sense of common people and ‘with malice toward none and charity for all’ go forward on the great adventure of making political, economic, and social democracy a practical reality, we shall not fail.”
With all of this in mind, we recommit ourselves to NFU’s foundational, grassroots ethos from 1902: to secure equity, establish justice, and apply the golden rule. It is our job to create the community we want our kids to come home to, and create the community we want to live in.
Family Farming and Dairy Policy Reform
Currently, historically low U.S. milk prices paid to dairy farmers fail to cover production costs and are 25 percent or more below global dairy prices for cheese and butter. In June 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Federal Milk Market Order imposed an unprecedented 20 percent increase in the fees, totaling more than $1 billion in the first year alone, that dairy farmers must pay to process their milk into dairy products. This significant rise in make allowances has fueled plant expansions nationwide introducing market distortions further reducing the prices paid to dairy farmers. Dairy farmers are not eligible for Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) to address income losses due to trade disruptions and high input costs.
The U.S. dairy industry faces a severe crisis, with a record number of farms closing nationwide. Persistently low profit margins have driven a 78 percent reduction in U.S. dairy farms—over 87,200 lost—since 1995. Market concentration and industry consolidation have left dairy farmers with few, if any, options for selling their milk, which further suppresses the prices they receive.
To reduce dairy farm closures and improve the outlook for US dairy farmers, we call on Congress to:
- Develop a farmer-led, incentive-based milk production plan that aligns supply with profitable market demand
- Create a transparent, producer-level price discovery formula within a growth management program that rewards dairy farmers for aligning production with actual market demand
- Initiate a thorough investigation into trading against interest practices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to prevent manipulation and ensure fairness and transparency
- Improve the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) formulas to establish a feed price floor to actually cover farmers’ costs of production and provide a real safety net for farmers with a reasonable return, with reduced premiums for farmers producing under six (6) million pounds of milk annually and require an adjusted gross income similar to other federal farm programs
- Undertake a comprehensive review of the Federal Milk Marketing Order system in the United States, addressing barriers that discourage producer participation, examining the effects of block voting by cooperatives on behalf of farmer-members, and scrutinizing the influence of external financial interests and legal interventions on the system
- Revise all Class pricing formulas to accurately represent both the value and volume of today’s full range of dairy products. Current formulas do not capture the true market value of many products—especially mozzarella and other higher-moisture, higher-value items—resulting in undervaluation and inequity for producers
- Pass the Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act, ensuring dairy farmers have the necessary resources to adopt improved nutrient management practices that effectively reduce methane emissions and provide additional environmental benefits
