The decision released May 25 and written by Justice Samuel Alito halted the agency’s authority under the CWA to regulate “navigable waters of the U.S.” in a fashion that applies authority and penalties on all wetlands near bodies of water, even those indistinguishable from regular geographic land.

Nervous, guarded and cautiously optimistic is how several dairy producers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana described their attitudes coming into 2023.

A numerical snapshot of Wisconsin shows the state averaged about 1.27 million dairy cows in 2022, producing almost 31.9 billion pounds of milk. Both changed little from the year before.

Controversy has surrounded Clean Water Act regulatory efforts for decades.

The Biden administration issued a water law reversal on the last working day of the year, thus creating more uncertainty in the longstanding issue of how to define navigable waters of the U.S., including streams, runoff and ponds used in agriculture.

Digest highlights

• CDI acquiring DairyAmerica
• Nominees sought for Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board
• Maryland livestock brokers sentenced
• NMPF updates regulatory issues
• U.S. dairy export outlook updated
• U.S. ag export deficit to grow
• Ag census distribution underway