In the news affecting a dairy producer's bottom line this first week of September 2025:
- USDA outlines plan to strengthen rural veterinary workforce
- Farmer sentiment weakens as producer confidence in the future wanes
- GDT index tumbles 4.3%
- September FSA interest rates slightly lower
- National Dairy Board announces college scholarship recipients
- Westby Cooperative Creamery announces $14 million expansion
USDA outlines plan to strengthen rural veterinary workforce
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced a commitment to new actions to increase the number of rural food animal veterinarians across the U.S. and recruit new veterinarians to join the USDA in their role to protect American ranchers, animals and the food supply.
“Rural veterinarians are vital for the agricultural economy in the United States. Our farmers and ranchers rely on these critical services to prevent the transmission of animal disease, protect our food supply and support America’s rural economy. As the number of rural food animal veterinarians continues to decline, USDA is putting farmers first to ensure we build back our first line of defense in our animal food production system – the rural veterinarian. With these new investments in scholarships and pay incentives, USDA is not only strengthening our animal food production system but also listening to producers and veterinarians across the country to ensure our programs meet real-world needs,” Rollins said.
Rollins launched a Rural Veterinary Action Plan that enhances and streamlines veterinary grant programs including the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP).
The plan also calls for better data about the scope of the rural veterinary shortage. The USDA Economic Research Service will study this issue and produce a report in mid-2026 to be used by USDA leadership and other policymakers seeking to address this crisis.
To recruit and retain USDA veterinarians, particularly in rural posts, port inspections and export certification roles, the USDA is pursuing strategies to make federal service more attractive to create a direct pipeline into public service for veterinarians. These steps represent an investment to ensure the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have a mission-critical veterinary workforce needed to safeguard animal health, public health and U.S. trade. Options under exploration include special pay rates for federal government veterinarians, increased tuition reimbursements to better align with private sector incentives, and potential implementation of a recruitment bonus for federal veterinarians. The USDA seeks to partner with universities, state and local communities, farmers and youth groups to recruit the best and brightest next generation of talent.
To better educate veterinary schools and recent veterinary school graduates about programs available to help finance the opening of a veterinary clinic in a rural area, the USDA will catalog relevant USDA programs including Rural Development programs such as the Business and Industry Loan Guarantees and the Community Facilities Program.
To further understand problems and solutions, the USDA will hold listening sessions between now and Oct. 1 to hear from stakeholders to determine what additional actions can be taken to reverse these trends and recruit food animal veterinarians to the USDA and rural areas.
While in Mississippi to announce this new plan, Rollins also named two awardees of the Veterinary Services Grant Program, which will allow for expanded capabilities to serve livestock producers in rural Mississippi and opened a new consolidated USDA office with the Rural Development, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Mississippi Farm Bureau in line with USDA’s reorganization efforts.
Farmer sentiment weakens as producer confidence in the future wanes
Farmer sentiment dipped again in August as producers were markedly less optimistic about the future, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. It was the lowest reading for the future index since last September.
“Responses from crop producers this month were much less optimistic than those from livestock producers, which indicates the disparity in profitability between crop and livestock enterprises,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
Beef cattle operations in particular are experiencing record profitability as the smallest cattle inventory since 1951 has pushed cattle prices to record levels. This stands in sharp contrast to returns for crop production, which have weakened in 2025.
The Ag Economy Barometer provides a monthly snapshot of farmer sentiment regarding the state of the agricultural economy. The survey collects responses from 400 producers whose annual market value of production is equal to or exceeds $500,000. Minimum targets by enterprise are as follows: 53% corn/soybeans, 14% wheat, 3% cotton, 19% beef cattle, 5% dairy and 6% hogs. Latest survey results, released Sept. 2, reflect ag producer outlooks as of Aug. 11-15.
GDT index tumbles 4.3%
The price index of dairy product prices sold on the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) platform dropped 4.3% in the auction held Sept. 2, and was the lowest calculated index since January.
Compared to the previous auction, prices for individual product categories were mostly lower. Cheddar cheese was the only product that traded higher, up 3.6%. Buttermilk powder was down 6.3%. Skim milk powder and whole milk powder were down by 5.8% and 5.3%, respectively. Mozzarella was down 4.6%, and butter and anyhydrous milkfat were both down by about 2.5%. Lactose was not offered at this trading event.
The GDT platform offers dairy products from several global companies: Fonterra (New Zealand), Darigold, Valley Milk and Dairy America (U.S.), Inalpi (Italy), Arla (Denmark), Arla Foods Ingredients (Denmark), BMI (Germany), Kerry Dairy (Ireland) and Solarec (Belgium).
The next GDT auction is Sept. 16.
September FSA interest rates slightly lower
The announced interest rates on loans through the USDA’s FSA are slightly lower and back to the rates offered in July. As we begin September 2025, interest rates for operating and ownership loans (compared to August) are as follows:
- Farm operating loans (direct): 4.875%, down from 5%
- Farm ownership loans (direct): 5.875%, down from 6%
- Farm ownership loans (direct, joint financing): 3.875%, down from 4%
- Farm ownership loans (down payment): 1.875%, down from 2%
- Emergency loan (amount of actual loss): 3.75%, unchanged
The FSA also offers guaranteed loans through commercial lenders at rates set by those lenders. For more information, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center.
National Dairy Board announces college scholarship recipients
The dairy checkoff has awarded 12 academic scholarships to students pursuing degrees with a focus on dairy and demonstrating strong potential as future industry leaders.
The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), through Dairy Management Inc. – which manages the national dairy checkoff – annually awards $2,500 scholarships to 11 students. In addition, the NDB awards a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding scholarship recipient.
Rachel Visser, a student at the University of Minnesota majoring in agricultural and food business management and agricultural communications and marketing, has been named the 2025-26 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship recipient.
Students earning $2,500 scholarships are: Cassie Bohnert, Iowa State University; Shelby Butler, University of Kentucky; Sara Kennedy, Pennsylvania State University; Katie Ketchum, University of Wisconsin – River Falls; Clancey Krahn, Oklahoma State University; Sienna Mahaffy, Oklahoma State University; Ava Mitchell, Michigan State University; Emma Parrigon, Ozarks Technical Community College; Chloe Rogers, California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo; Iris Schilderink, Texas Tech University; and Jessemy Sharp, South Dakota State University.
Westby Cooperative Creamery announces $14 million expansion
Westby Cooperative Creamery, the only cottage cheese manufacturer in Wisconsin and a proud farmer-owned cooperative since 1903, has announced a $14.1 million investment to modernize its Westby manufacturing facility. The expansion will boost production efficiency, improve food and employee safety, and ensure long-term stability for the cooperative’s member-owners.
The primary goal of the project is to modernize aging infrastructure and align production capacity with increasing consumer demand for cottage cheese. “Our current equipment is continuing to age, so before it meets end of life, we want to modernize and, just as important, we want to meet customer demand for this dairy food,” JD Greenwalt, the creamery’s CEO and president, said.
The project includes:
- A new food-grade room within the existing facility (approximately 80 feet by 40 feet)
- Installation of four fully enclosed cottage cheese vats (each producing up to 5,700 pounds of cottage cheese per run)
- Two cream tanks (10,000-gallon capacity)
- One new 30,000-gallon milk silo, sourced in Wisconsin
- Upgraded refrigeration, sanitation and auxiliary equipment
Key operational benefits include:
- Enclosed systems to automate ingredients, testing and sanitation
- New technology that improves product safety with HEPA-filtered air environments
- Faster processing: production time reduced from 16 hours to eight
- Increased yield: 10%-15% more cottage cheese from the same amount of milk
The expansion will not increase staffing levels, but it will transform the nature of jobs at the facility – offering less labor-intensive roles.
The project is designed to cause minimal disruption to existing operations, with construction occurring in a walled-off portion of the facility. Preliminary work has already begun, though key pieces of equipment have a 50-week lead time, which pushes the project’s completion to the fall of 2026.
