The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on 17 September 2026 that dairy checkoff money may no longer be spent on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said the decision returns the programme to its original purpose of building demand for U.S. dairy products.

Checkoffs are mandatory assessments that producers pay into research and promotion boards. Under the Dairy Production Stabilization Act, the dairy funds are authorised for promotion, research and nutrition education that strengthen markets for U.S. dairy. The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, which was set up through the checkoff, has run a range of ESG initiatives, including greenhouse-gas and net-zero targets.

The department's action ends checkoff support for those ESG-related projects while allowing administrative functions that do not advance them. It also directs the Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees the boards, to ensure that no research and promotion funds in any other commodity checkoff are used for ESG mandates.

"American dairy producers, cattle ranchers, and farmers pay checkoff assessments so those dollars can build demand for their products," Rollins said, adding that the department "will not allow producer dollars to underwrite mandates that put American agriculture at a disadvantage." USDA characterised the initiatives it is cutting off as "radical climate agendas"; the release did not name the specific projects affected or say how much money they had received.

USDA said the checkoff itself has been largely successful when focused on its core mission. It cited independent economists at Texas A&M, who found that checkoff investments raised demand for promoted dairy products and dairy exports, and that the gain in producer-level profit from promotion exceeded the programme's cost. The all-dairy return was put at $5.93 for each dollar spent, with product-specific returns of $4.16 for fluid milk, $2.67 for cheese, $24.85 for butter and $12.82 for exports.

Similar studies for other boards have reported returns of $13.41 for beef, $6.40 for cotton and $33.54 for softwood lumber, according to the department.

For dairy farmers the change alters what their compulsory contributions can pay for, but not the assessment itself. For exporters and buyers of U.S. dairy, it signals that sustainability commitments previously funded through the checkoff will need to be paid for by other means, if they continue at all.

Source: USDA