Feb. 20, 2025 The Midwest Center For Investigative Reporting
Bird flu + milk pricing changes = double whammy for dairy farmers. California is the hardest hit.
Investigate Midwest journalist John McCracken wanted to better understand how the bird flu epidemic was impacting milk production across the country. The virus had been hammering the nation’s poultry industry, causing egg prices to spike. Was a similar price increase likely for milk?
John’s analysis of USDA data found that milk production had declined, especially in California, the nation’s largest dairy-producing state that has been ravaged by bird flu. He also found that a nearly 100-year-old federal pricing formula helped keep milk prices low for consumers.
However, that pricing formula was changed last month, leading to less money for dairy farmers.
This week’s top story looks at the impact bird flu is having on the nation’s dairy farmers. It also looks at how the dairy processing industry successfully lobbied the USDA to take more money from these farmers, who are facing a perfect storm of financial hardship.
The combination of bird flu and the lower costs paid for milk is “going to lead to a greater attrition of dairy farmers around the country,” said Lynne McBride, executive director of California Dairy Campaign, a dairy advocacy organization.
John’s story also includes a data visual that shows how bird flu is hitting dairy herds in different states.
California’s first known case of bird flu on a dairy farm was announced Aug. 29, 2024. At the time, there were roughly 200 total cases in dairy cattle nationwide. Since then, the number of infected dairy herds in California has surged past 700.
Read more here.
— Ben Felder, editor in chief
Billions in loans support minority farmers. Trump’s DEI rollbacks cast doubt on their future.
ByJuan Vassallo, Investigate Midwest
Although farm loans appear unaffected by President Donald Trump’s funding freeze, the administration’s rollback of DEI initiatives has cast uncertainty over USDA programs vital to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
From 2019 and 2023, the U.S Department of Agriculture provided $2 billion in critical financial support to these farmers and ranchers – those of color, women, and other underserved groups – in Midwestern states and Oklahoma to support farming operations and farmland development, according to USDA data.
Read more.
OPINION: FTC should not let John Deere off the hook
ByDave Dickey, Columnist
Just days before Donald Trump moved back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, in a heavily redacted complaint, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued farm equipment manufacturer John Deere, claiming it illegally boosts profits by requiring farmers to use its service network to repair broken down machines.
The lawsuit – joined by the state attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota – asks for a permanent injunction of Deere’s current practices regarding repair software and a requirement that Deere makes fully functional repair software available to farmers and independent mechanics.
The FTC complaint was a long time coming. Ask any farmer if they believe John Deere has been dealing off the top of the deck when it comes to software repair tools and you’ll get an earful.
Read more.
ICYMI: Coordination challenges in bird flu response — lessons for today
By John McCracken, Sky Chadde and Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest
As bird flu cases surge and the Trump administration implements new policies affecting health agency communications, our October 2024 investigation remains crucial. We uncovered initial struggles among state agencies to coordinate their bird flu response, highlighting systemic issues that could hinder current efforts. With recent federal directives pausing external communications from health agencies, effective coordination is more vital than ever.
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Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public as a watchdog over influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.
