5 December 2025

Headlines

• Dairy = Growth, Expansion, Opportunity and Optimism
• Straight From the Field: Sustainability Insights from US Beef, Dairy, and Crop Producers
• Ag Lawmakers Begin Urgent Post-Thanksgiving Push for Farmer Aid
• Ag Lenders Anticipate Only Half of US Farm Borrowers to Turn a Profit in 2025
• Setting the Pace for Dairy Progress: A Unified Approach for Dairy Sustainability
• USDA Releases Dairy Forecast for Price and Production
• Checkoff Watch: The world wants our dairy and that’s good for every farmer
• Bridging Bridges and Driving Global Dairy Opportunities
• Walmart Opens New Milk Processing Plant in Georgia
• Farmers Hope to Make Hiring Foreign Farm Workers Easier
• November 2025 Milk Class Prices Mostly Lower
• Dairy Cows Culled for Beef Up in October Report
• How the Medical Community is Helping the Dairy Industry Grow

Walmart Opens New Milk Processing Plant in Valdosta

Walmart held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Valdosta milk processing facility on Tuesday, December 2nd. The ceremony included music from the Valdosta High School marching band, speeches from Walmart and local leaders from the Valdosta-Lowndes area, and donations to the Greater Valdosta United Way and Valdosta High School. The facility will become the largest fluid milk processing facility in America when it reaches full capacity. The first shipments of gallon and half gallon jugs out of the new Valdosta plant arrived on store shelves a little over a month ago. At full capacity, the plant leadership estimates the facility will service over 650 Walmart and Sam's Club locations in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Pictured: Walmart corporate executives and associates from the Valdosta facility joined local leaders for the ribbon cutting. Walmart states the plant will create over 400 new jobs in the Valdosta-Lowndes County area.

Pictured: State Senator Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) spoke about the importance of the dairy industry to South Georgia and the greater agricultural economy of Georgia. Sen. Goodman is the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a blueberry farmer from neighboring Clinch County.

Photos from City of Valdosta.

Tell Your Representative to Support Whole Milk for Healthy Kids

Urge your representative to support the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. Nutrition plays a major role in child development. Milk provides a unique package of 13 essential nutrients and is the leading source of protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin D for children, yet many kids fall short of recommended daily dairy intake. This act would expand the milk options schools are allowed to offer to include whole milk and 2% milk. The proposed bill passed the Senate and is now waiting for action in the House of Representatives. You can send a message to your representative encouraging support of this bill through the National Milk Producers Federation website here.

Don't Forget to Book Your Hotel Room for 2026 Georgia Dairy Conference

The Georgia Dairy Conference is next month! Don't wait to secure your hotel room. After your conference registration is complete, you'll receive a link in your confirmation email to book your room at our partner hotels at the discounted block rate. Only a few rooms are left in our block at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront. While we wait to see if additional rooms at our host hotel will become available, you can secure a room at one of our two overflow hotels next door: the Homewood Suites (Hilton) or the AC Hotel Savannah (Marriott). We have secured discounted room rates during the conference at both of these hotels as well.

November Dairy Market Report

The Following is from the National Milk Producers Federation.

U.S. Fluid Milk Sales in September were 2.5% higher than a year earlier. Exports during June-August were significantly higher than during the same period a year earlier. The recent expansion of U.S. milk production may be cresting; USDA reported October production and dairy cow numbers were up over a year earlier by slightly smaller percentages than during September. 

The NDPSR-reported dairy product prices were almost all lower in October than a month earlier, as were all the federal order class prices. 

To read the full report, click here.

GMP Classifieds

Want to showcase your business to dairy producers and industry professionals across the Southeast and US? Email info@gamilk.org to learn more about how you can advertise in the GMP E-News.

Calendar of Events

December 7-9 - Georgia Farm Bureau Convention

Jekyll Island Conference Center - Jekyll Island, GA

January 19-21 - Georgia Dairy Conference

Marriott Savannah Riverfront Hotel - Savannah, GA

February 16 - February Florida Snowbirds - The 2026 Dairy Old Timer’s Breakfast

O’Brien’s Irish Pub - Brandon, FL - Register and Learn More

Until Next Time,

GMP