# 2026-04013: USDA Forces Dairy Farmers to Spill Cheese Costs Secrets 2026-04013, Mandatory Manufacturing Cost Survey Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Agriculture Department, Agricultural Marketing Service published 2026-02-27, effective Comments must be received by March 30, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04013 - As of: 2026-06-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2026-04013 - Title: Mandatory Manufacturing Cost Survey Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Type: Proposed Rule - Agencies: Agriculture Department; Agricultural Marketing Service - Citation: 91 FR 9732 - Published: 2026-02-27 - Effective: Comments must be received by March 30, 2026. - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: 0581-AE47 - Last updated: 2026-06-11 ## In one line USDA Forces Dairy Farmers to Spill Cheese Costs Secrets ## Summary The USDA wants to start mandatory surveys to collect info on how much it costs to make dairy products and how much product is made. Dairy producers will need to share this info, helping USDA understand costs better and improve the dairy market. Comments on the plan are open until March 30, 2026, so now’s the time to speak up! ## Abstract This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeks input from stakeholders on the development of mandatory surveys of dairy production cost and product yield information, as authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA). USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) seeks comments on the manufacturing cost and product yield data to be collected, the collection process, cost calculation methodologies, verification processes, and data reporting. Information received from public comments will inform USDA's approach to this legislative mandate. ## Effects PRIA read - Mandatory cost and yield reporting: cost, medium. If your dairy plant is required to report price information under the Dairy Products Mandatory Reporting Program, USDA is authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 to require your plant to provide manufacturing cost and product yield data for all products produced at that plant. - Biennial public cost and yield report: benefit, low. USDA will collect, analyze, and publish a Biennial Manufacturing Cost and Product Yield Report every 2 years that provides cost and yield statistics for commodities subject to the Dairy Products Mandatory Reporting Program, currently including butter, 40‑pound block cheddar cheese, dry whey, and no… - Publication confidentiality protections: benefit, medium. Data published in USDA's Biennial Report will be subject to Dairy Products Mandatory Reporting Program confidentiality metrics: only aggregated data of no fewer than three plants will be published, and no single entity may represent more than 60 percent of the volume of the commodity surveyed. - Detailed cost categories to be reported: cost, medium. USDA is planning to collect manufacturing input expenses and product yield data and lists example cost categories including labor (processing), non-labor (processing), utilities, product volume, dairy ingredient inputs, other ingredients, general and administrative, packaging, and return on investm… - Verification and records access requirement: cost, medium. USDA will define a verification process and requires reporting entities to make cost accounting records available upon request to support verification; the ANPR seeks comment on how long such records are typically kept and what records could support cost and yield data. - Possible reporting schedule options: cost, medium. USDA is considering three data collection schedules and seeks comment: (1) collect two years of data every two years (e.g., collect 2025 and 2026 data in a 2027 survey for a 2028 Biennial Report); (2) collect data every year and publish two years' worth in the Biennial Report (e.g., collect 2025 da… ## Related documents - [2026-20792](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20792): Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown in California; Order Amending Marketing Order No. 989, 2026-10-09 - [2026-20622](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20622): Almonds Grown in California; Amendment to the Marketing Order, 2026-10-08 - [2026-20095](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20095): United States Grain Standards Act Award of Designations, 2026-10-01 - [2026-19887](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19887): Almonds Grown in California; Extension of Inedible Disposition Obligation Deadline, 2026-09-29 - [2026-19623](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19623): National Organic Program: Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise a Previously Approved Information Collection (2027), 2026-09-25 - [2026-19420](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19420): Fruit Crops; Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection, 2026-09-23 ## Sources - [2026-04013 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/27/2026-04013/mandatory-manufacturing-cost-survey-advanced-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking) - [2026-04013 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-02-27/pdf/2026-04013.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2026-03993, Approval of the 2023 Edition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Bo…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-03993) - [Next: 2026-04029, Amendment of Class E5 Airspace Over Honesdale, PA](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04029) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-04013 (as of 2026-06-11).