In dairy-related news the second week of February 2026:
- USDA to open Continuous and General Conservation Reserve Program enrollment for 2026
- Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy elects new board executive committee
- U.S. dairy welcomes U.S.-Argentina trade agreement
- DCHA opens registration for its annual conference and trade show
- USDA announces completion of sterile fly dispersal facility in Texas
USDA to open Continuous and General Conservation Reserve Program enrollment for 2026
The USDA announced the enrollment periods for agricultural producers and landowners to submit offers for the Continuous and General Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for Continuous CRP starting Feb. 12 through March 20, 2026. Enrollment for General CRP will run from March 9 through April 17, 2026. FSA will announce dates for Grassland CRP signup in the near future.
CRP is the USDA’s flagship conservation program, providing financial and technical support to agricultural producers and landowners who place unproductive or marginal cropland under contract for 10 to 15 years and who agree to voluntarily convert the land to beneficial vegetative cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and support wildlife habitat. The Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, extends FSA’s authority to administer CRP through Sept. 30.
“We’re still very close to the 27 million-acre statutory cap with 1.9 million acres available for all CRP enrollments this fiscal year, so enrollment is likely to be competitive,” said Richard Fordyce, the USDA’s undersecretary for farm production and conservation. “This isn’t about the total number of acres enrolled; it’s about producers and landowners offering and USDA accepting the acres that can best deliver real, lasting benefits to soil, water and wildlife.”
FSA will batch Continuous CRP offers submitted by interested agricultural producers and landowners. Offers to reenroll expiring CRP continuous acreage will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. New acreage offered in continuous CRP practices will be considered for acceptance on a first-come, first-serve basis if they support USDA conservation priorities including but not limited to practices that address water quality, such as filter strips and grass waterways, and practices that restore native ecosystems or target specific resource concerns.
The first Continuous CRP batching period ends on March 20. Offers submitted after this date will be considered for acceptance in subsequent batching periods if acreage remains available.
General CRP offers are submitted through a competitive bid process. After the enrollment period closes, General CRP offers are ranked and scored by FSA, using nationally established environmental benefits criteria. The USDA will announce accepted offers once ranking and scoring for all offers is completed. In addition to annual rental payments, approved General CRP participants may also be eligible for cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative cover.
Producers and landowners interested in participating in CRP should contact their local FSA county office.
Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy elects new board executive committee
The checkoff-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announced new board officers and members of the organization’s executive committee, elected at its first meeting of the new year. The executive committee helps guide the board by advising on priorities and shaping the issues brought forward for full board consideration.
Dairy Farmers of America President and CEO Dennis Rodenbaugh will remain chair of the board of directors, which includes leadership from across the dairy value chain.
Other executive committee members seated at the meeting include:
- Vice chair: Ron Dunford, president and CEO, Schreiber Foods
- Treasurer: Sheryl Meshke, president and CEO, Associated Milk Producers Inc.
- Secretary: Lance FitzSimmons, president and CEO, Leprino Foods Company
- At-large: Heather Anfang, EVP and president, dairy foods, Land O’Lakes Inc.
- At-large: Joe Diglio, president and CEO, Michigan Milk Producers Association
- At-large: Matt McClelland, CEO, Prairie Farms Dairy Inc.
In addition, Pennsylvania dairy farmer Marilyn Hershey, who is chair of Dairy Management Inc., will serve as the farmer representative to the executive committee.
U.S. dairy welcomes U.S.-Argentina trade agreement
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) celebrated the signing of a U.S.-Argentina Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment that includes tariff and nontariff barrier concessions for U.S. dairy exports.
Argentina commits in the trade deal to eliminate tariffs that currently range up to 28% on select dairy products, including milk powders, dairy proteins, lactose and other dairy ingredients. The agreement also establishes a 1,000 metric ton quota for certain U.S. cheeses. In addition to tariff reductions, Argentina agrees to prevent several nontariff barriers, including refraining from imposing processing facility registration requirements on U.S. dairy exports and providing explicit protections for 39 common cheese names like Parmesan.
“The commitments secured in the U.S.-Argentina reciprocal trade deal bring new, real opportunities for our dairy exports to South America,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “USDEC appreciates USTR’s hard work in securing agreements that lower tariffs and meaningfully address nontariff barriers, particularly those to protect common cheese names. We look forward to building our market presence in Argentina as the agreement is implemented.”
DCHA opens registration for its annual conference and trade show
The 2026 Dairy Calf & Heifer Association (DCHA) Annual Conference and Trade Show will be held at the Hotel El Conquistador Tucson, A Hilton Resort, April 7-9. Back by popular demand, the 2026 conference offers two concurrent short courses being held on April 7 – one focusing on young calves and the other on postweaned calves up to parturition.
Also, back by popular demand, attendees may participate in one of two in-person tours, being held the morning of April 7. One tour option is Shamrock Farms, and the second tour option is the University of Arizona’s Agricultural Research Center.
Like the last two years, DCHA will offer two preconference sessions presented in Spanish and simultaneous interpretation (English to Spanish) for all general session and breakout session presentations. Additionally, interested individuals may attend in person or virtually.
To learn more about the conference, registration and hotel links, go to DCHA's conference website. Be sure to register early to get the best registration rate. Reserve your hotel room by March 16 to take advantage of DCHA’s discounted room block rate.
USDA announces completion of sterile fly dispersal facility in Texas
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and governor of Texas Greg Abbott celebrated a significant achievement this week in the fight against New World screwworm (NWS) with the completion of a U.S.-based sterile fly dispersal facility in Edinburg, Texas. This facility expands the USDA’s ability to disperse sterile flies along the border and into the U.S., if necessary.
“This sterile fly dispersal facility was a high-priority project, and our team delivered it in record time,” Rollins said. “This new facility is a monumental achievement for our domestic preparedness efforts, but we are also diligently working to stop the spread of screwworm in Mexico, conduct extensive trapping and surveillance along the border, increase U.S. response capacity and encourage innovative solutions.”
