By SHERRY BUNTING
Special for Farmshine
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On National Agriculture Day, March 24, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a national campaign to promote the updated “Product of USA” label that took effect Jan. 1, 2026.
The voluntary standard applies to meat, poultry, and egg products from animals that are born, raised, harvested, and processed entirely in the U.S., closing a loophole that previously allowed imported products to carry the claim after minimal processing.
Administration officials said the effort is aimed at boosting transparency, strengthening domestic supply chains and giving consumers confidence when choosing U.S.-raised products. The rollout is voluntary, not mandatory, and it is tied to USDA’s broader plan to rebuild the U.S. beef industry, which matters to dairy farmers deriving historically high prices for cull cows and bull calves.
The current rule is limited to livestock-derived meat, poultry, and eggs, reflecting longstanding labeling frameworks and trade considerations specific to those sectors, according to a Department press release.
Dairy products are not included in the labeling standard or the Product of USA awareness campaign. In recent years, only a handful of grassroots farm organizations have ever requested Product of USA labeling standards for dairy. The big trade organizations like IDFA and NMPF have not prioritized such policy.
OPINION: Yet, milk and dairy products are also livestock-derived, like eggs and meat. Therefore, shouldn’t USDA consider including them? Never mind the imported milk protein powders, butter, and cheese, online searches demonstrate fake whey powders containing ‘precision fermentation’ proteins are now coming onshore from countries like India. These are produced in vats with bio-engineered microbes.
USDA should have a hand in ensuring a labeling standard for both REAL and Product of USA for all animal protein products, including Dairy. After all, this is simply a case of providing rules for voluntary labels. Done right, the labels could be used to spark positive homegrown demand.
From the beef side, industry reaction has been positive, with calls from organizations like RCALF wanting Congress to go further and adopt mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL).
For dairy, however, the absence of even a voluntary Product of USA labeling standard raises familiar questions about whether origin clarity, particularly for products competing with imports, could be pursued in future policy discussions, or are imported fat and protein ingredients used to fortify yields among made-in-America dairy products?
This reminds me that the national dairy checkoff via DMI and USDEC has done trade mission trips into other countries, posting on social media the Red-White-Blue “USA-produced” cheese banners and booths. Why not employ the same strategy at home?
