Three Wisconsin dairy farmers are challenging the federal dairy checkoff program, arguing it forces producers to fund promotional and research efforts such as the “Got Milk?” campaign. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed the lawsuit against Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. The suit targets the long-running program that collects mandatory assessments from milk producers to finance national and state-level marketing, research, and promotion initiatives, including groups like Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. Similar checkoff programs exist across agriculture, including beef, pork, eggs, and potatoes. The complaint describes the program as a “burdensome federal program” that harms small farms, and it criticizes checkoff-funded efforts like the Innovation Center for Dairy Research, which emphasizes environmental stewardship and sustainability. Wisconsin Public Radio says the suit was filed in federal court, and the case seeks to halt or restructure how dairy checkoff funds are collected and used nationwide.
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