It's a different process than other states have used to meet the mandatory testing requirements that were first announced in December. Wisconsin was one of the last states to enroll in the program this spring.
The U.S. “has never gotten close to exceeding” quotas that would trigger Canada’s dairy tariffs, the International Dairy Foods Association said in March.
The Washington, D.C.-based group blamed Canadian “protectionist measures” for the U.S. not exporting enough dairy to reach quotas.
Canada-U.S. trade is tariff-free for almost all agricultural products, the U.S. Agriculture Department said in February.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents most of northern Wisconsin, said March 13 “Canada is tariffing us 200%” on dairy.
President Donald Trump made a similar claim March 12 in support of his tariff proposals.
Wisconsin exported $1.4 billion in agricultural products to Canada in 2023, more than double the amount of any other country, according to the latest statistics.
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The sale of raw or unpasteurized milk generally is illegal in Wisconsin, although “incidental sales” are legal.
An incidental sale is when a dairy farm sells raw milk directly to a consumer at the farm.
But those sales are illegal “if done as a regular business, or if they involve advertising of any kind.”
Robert Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, has indicated he would promote raw milk.
Public health authorities consider raw milk a health danger because it hasn’t been pasteurized — heated enough to kill illness-causing bacteria such as E. coli. But 13 states allow raw milk sales in stores. Advocates say it’s more nutritious, though experts say there isn’t enough evidence to prove that.
A Wisconsin Senate bill introduced in December 2023 would have created licensing for farms that want to sell raw milk. It failed to pass the Senate.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.