In celebration of June Dairy Month, Indiana Dairy Producers President Roger Hibschman gave an outlook and overview of the current trends within the dairy industry.
Hibschman is a third-generation dairy farmer in Syracuse. He raises 150 registered Holstein cows, 180 acres of corn, 91 acres of soybeans, wheat and hay. Hibschman was elected president of the IDP earlier this year at their annual elections. He replaced Carrie Jo Bollenbacher of Argos, following the end of her term. Hibschman is also the vice president of the Foremost board.
The top issues within the dairy industry, according to Hibschman, include: technical issues with legislation for whole milk in schools, milk prices and labor and immigration.
While the passing of the Whole Milk Bill was a win for dairy farmers, Hibschman said the fight isn't over yet. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 allows for whole and reduced fat (2%) milk in federally funded school lunches. However, it is not offered for school breakfasts, causing issues with storage limitations.
Many schools across Indiana and the country simply do not have the refrigeration space to include the whole and 2% milk options in addition to skim and low-fat (1%) milk that must be offered with breakfasts and lunches.
"So, there's very few schools in Indiana that can offer whole milk," Hibschman said.
A stressor on milk prices is the cost of freight, Hibschman said. The share of freight paid by the producer versus the processor has changed in recent years, tightening the margins on dairy farmers, he said.
In northern Indiana, dairy farmers often sell in Fort Wayne to Prairie Farms and Walmart, to Nestle in Anderson, or up to Michigan. Much of the southern Indiana milk is sent to markets in the southern states, such as Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida.
Concerns are high concerning the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and the number of Hispanic workers on dairy farms.
Hibschman said dairy producers need to do more to help their employees stay on the farm. IDP's executive director, Steve Obert, once shared a story of one worker who walked and swam 30 days to get to the U.S. and find a job on a dairy farm.
"That's when my mind changed on this," Hibschman said, sharing a quote from Obert. "'If that guy gave that much dedication to get here to get a job to provide for his family, and that job is at my house,' he said, 'if that's what he did, I think I need to do a little bit more to support him.' And that kind of hit home to me.'"
Hibschman compared that scenario with one from the U.S., where it is difficult to get anyone to work for the price producers can afford to pay.
"If that guy comes and he's working that hard and providing that strong support for you and you're family, you probably need to return that favor to him," Hibschman said.
The booming trend within the dairy market is protein.
"We're getting paid more on the protein scale than the butterfat scale," he said.
Hibschman noted that a few years ago, cottage cheese was back in style. Now it is taking a back seat to protein energy drinks, with milk proteins being isolated and added to various popular brands of drinks.
"There's lots of influence on social media," he said.
His vision for 2026 is to help more dairy farmers across the state and increase membership.
"IDP represents 80% of the milk in Indiana. There are 660 Grade A dairy farms, there's 12 Grade A goat farms," he said. "We represent 80% of the milk ... but we only represent 14% of the farms."
Hibschman hopes to increase IDP's representation of dairy farmers throughout the state, but especially in LaGrange and Elkhart counties, where he said many dairy farmers are without representation. He also hopes to see more goat dairies join the group. He aims to include dairies of every size and style in their membership.
He said he and IDP are seeking to understand the needs within Amish and Mennonite farm communities so that they can better serve them in the dairy industry. Recently, the organization has begun offering continued education programs across the state to help farmers and farm workers stay up to date on dairy trends and procedures. They are also bringing back mailed newsletters for those who prefer traditional over electronic forms of communication.