- On April 28, 2026, three federal lawsuits were filed by members of the Coalition for Organic Dairy Exemption (CODE), including Aurora Organic Dairy, Horizon Dairy, and CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley, challenging their required participation in the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program. Specifically, the CODE members argue that their forced participation in the program is unconstitutional. A separate class action claim seeks compensation for six years of payments that farmers say were collected for FMMO without return.
- The lawsuits argue that organic and conventional milk are treated the same under FMMO pricing and pooling regulations, even though they operate under different production systems. Organic production includes higher feed certification and handling costs, and the lawsuits allege that while both organic and conventional dairy pay into the producer settlement funds, the benefits flow almost entirely to conventional producers, even though conventional milk cannot be used in organic production.
- Prior to these lawsuits, CODE submitted proposals to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2015 that were not advanced and presented organic-specific recommendations during the 2023 national FMMO hearing that were not considered. Additionally, CODE filed administrative petitions with USDA in May 2025 challenging both the constitutionality and the legal adequacy of the FMMO system as to organic.
- Keller and Heckman will relay any developments in this litigation.
