Cutting Red Tape on Carcass Disposal (AB 411 – Composting of Routine Livestock Mortalities): WUD led the successful passage and signing of this bill, legalizing on-farm composting of up to 100 cubic yards of routine livestock mortalities and slaughter waste. This provides a practical, low-cost, environmentally sound alternative to limited and expensive rendering options, directly reducing regulatory compliance costs and operational hurdles for dairies, especially smaller and remote operations. The law takes effect on January 1st, 2026, and be on the lookout for Best Management Practices (BMP’S) in development by CDFA. 

Reducing Regulatory Risk to Dairy in School Meals (AB 1264 – Ultra-Processed Foods): Through targeted amendments WUD secured, this signed law was significantly narrowed and delayed (implementation pushed to 2028-2032). Changes removed overly broad “particularly harmful” categories, shifted oversight to health experts, and limited the scope to school-day sales, protecting dairy products like flavored yogurt and cheese from unfair regulatory stigma and potential bans in school nutrition programs.

Securing Water Reliability Funding for SGMA Compliance (Proposition 4 Bond): WUD supported the voter-approved climate bond that unlocked $386 million for groundwater recharge/banking projects and $75 million for agricultural water conservation. These funds will help dairy farmers meet Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requirements without excessive regulatory penalties or loss of water access critical to operations.

Complementing this, WUD collaborated with partners like Lower Tule River and Pixley Irrigation Districts on a targeted PR and advocacy campaign to build support for multi-benefit land repurposing and groundwater sustainability efforts. This included developing unified messaging, sharing positive farmer stories, pursuing earned media (op-eds, letters to editors), targeted digital ads, and direct outreach to key Sacramento decision-makers (e.g., Natural Resources Agency, DWR leadership, and legislative committees). This campaign will be visible in early 2026, aiming to shift perceptions, secure ongoing funding, and create a more favorable regulatory environment for continued farming.

Strong Defense Against Subsidized Competition (Defeating Plant-Based Funding Push): WUD assembled and led a broad coalition to block the Plant Based Foods Association’s attempt to secure $10 million in the state budget and $50 million in the Proposition 4 bond for highly processed plant-based alternatives. This victory prevented a taxpayer-funded plant-based check-off that would undercut real California dairy in institutional markets.

Protecting North Coast Dairies from Water Quality Litigation Threats: WUD launched a comprehensive advocacy effort to shield North Coast dairies from conflicting state and federal water quality laws that expose them to costly lawsuits from third-party groups. Through a 3-prong approach, identifying and fixing on-dairy surface water liabilities: manure management checklists, reinforcing/creating surface water monitoring programs with farmer-owned data, and executing a new groundwater quality monitoring, WUD will reduce red tape by providing confidential resources and establishing a dedicated North Coast Legal Defense Fund with specialized litigators. To fully support this farmer-led effort, WUD also created the new non-profit “Farmers for Clean Water” (FCW) to consolidate monitoring efforts, pursue grants (building on a $1M Central Valley precedent), protect farmer data privacy, and streamline compliance across regions. Groundwork laid in 2025 includes negotiations with water boards, with phased incorporation of existing groups starting in 2026, ensuring long-term protection against shutdowns and excessive legal costs.

WUD’s 2025 work consistently prioritized practical deregulation, cost reduction, market protection, and fierce advocacy to cut unnecessary red tape and regulatory overreach, ensuring California dairy families can remain on the land and continue farming for generations to come.

Defending Against Additional Cal/OSHA Regulations on Bird Flu (HPAI): WUD, alongside Dr. Michael Payne of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) successfully defended the industry from proposed additional Cal/OSHA regulatory measures by presenting the state’s OSHA Standards Board in June 2025 with compelling evidence from the tri-agency “One Health” approach (involving CDFA, CDPH, and Cal/OSHA). This data highlighted effective worker protections during the 2024-2025 HPAI outbreak, including widespread PPE distribution (4.6 Million units in total over 3,400 kits by WUD and partners), comprehensive outreach and education campaigns, provision of paid sick leave (5 days minimum for infected workers), and remarkably low violation rates (only 2 out of 54 OSHA inspections on quarantined facilities). By demonstrating no human hospitalizations, minimal transmission to workers (21 confirmed cases in California, all mild), and adherence to existing Zoonotic Disease Prevention standards (Section 5199.1), WUD prevented burdensome new rules that could have increased operational costs and red tape for dairies.

WUD’s 2025 work consistently prioritized practical deregulation, cost reduction, market protection, and fierce advocacy to cut unnecessary red tape and regulatory overreach, ensuring California dairy families can remain on the land and continue farming for generations to come.