Shoppers who bought milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products at retail since January 1, 2018 may be covered by a proposed class action alleging the National Milk Producers Federation and 13 dairy cooperatives, including Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold and Tillamook, used a jointly funded export program to push up U.S. dairy prices. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. The National Milk Producers Federation and the cooperatives named in the case have not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
A group of consumers sued the National Milk Producers Federation and 13 dairy cooperatives on October 5, 2026, claiming the co-ops have kept U.S. dairy prices artificially high since 2018. The case, Oriakhi v. National Milk Producers Federation, No. 2:26-cv-01093, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division.The complaint targets Cooperatives Working Together, a program the federation runs with money contributed by dairy farmers through their co-ops. It alleges that through the program’s export assistance, competing co-ops agreed to subsidize one another’s overseas sales of cheese, butter and other products, pulling supply out of the U.S. market so domestic prices would rise. The defendants have not yet responded, and no court has ruled on any of the claims.
Free settlement alerts
Get notified when new class actions open to claims
Join thousands of readers who get the latest class action settlements you may qualify for — delivered straight to your inbox.
Who Is Being Sued
The defendants are the National Milk Producers Federation, a trade group representing most U.S. dairy-marketing cooperatives, and 13 cooperatives it accuses of taking part in the CWT program:- Agri-Mark, Inc.
- Bongards Creameries
- Cooperative Milk Producers Association
- Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
- Lanco Dairy Farms Coop, Inc.
- Lonestar Milk Producers
- Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, which does business as Maola Local Dairies
- Michigan Milk Producers Association
- Mount Joy Farmers Co-operative Association
- Northwest Dairy Association, which does business as Darigold
- Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
- Tillamook County Creamery Association
- United Dairymen of Arizona
The complaint also names up to 100 unidentified “Doe” defendants it may add later.
How the Export Program Allegedly Raised Prices
The complaint describes CWT’s export assistance this way: member co-ops pay into the program, and the money is used to help members win contracts to sell dairy products abroad. Because the money comes from competitors rather than a government, the plaintiffs argue, it amounts to rival sellers paying each other to ship product overseas. Less cheese and butter stays in the U.S., wholesale prices for those products rise, and because federal milk pricing formulas are tied to cheese and butter prices, the regulated minimum price of raw milk rises too.The complaint leans on the federation’s own statements. It quotes a 2018 statement attributed to the program’s chief executive that CWT could improve the milk prices received by all U.S. dairy farmers by as much as $0.50 per hundredweight, and a 2018 federation report estimating that CWT export sales had raised farmer milk prices by an average of $0.36 per hundredweight a year. The plaintiffs say those higher prices were passed down through processors and retailers to people buying dairy at the store.
The complaint says the program now operates under a new name, the NEXT Program. It also argues the co-ops are not shielded by the Capper-Volstead Act, a federal law that lets farmers market their products together through cooperatives. That question is likely to be contested.
Who Is in the Proposed Class?
The proposed class covers people and businesses that bought dairy products, including fluid milk, cheese, butter, yogurt and ice cream, for their own use and not directly from a defendant, from January 1, 2018 to the present. Because federal antitrust law generally lets only direct buyers sue for money, the damages claims rely on state laws that allow consumers who bought through stores to recover.The complaint invokes the antitrust or consumer protection laws of 41 states and the District of Columbia. Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Washington are not among the states it names, although it says its list is not exhaustive. The definition is a proposal; a court would have to certify a class before anyone is formally part of the case.
What the Lawsuit Seeks
The complaint brings four claims: a federal Sherman Act claim seeking only an injunction, state antitrust claims, state consumer protection claims, and unjust enrichment. It asks for an order stopping the alleged conduct, actual damages, treble damages where state law allows them, restitution, interest and attorneys’ fees. Those are requests, not amounts anyone has been awarded.CWT Has Been Sued Before
Earlier antitrust cases targeted a different CWT program: herd retirement, which paid farmers to send whole dairy herds to slaughter. According to the new complaint, Edwards v. National Milk Producers Federation settled in 2016 for $52 million and First Impressions Salon v. National Milk Producers Federation settled in 2020 for $220 million. The new suit says herd retirements ended because of that litigation and that, in 2010, CWT stepped up its export assistance instead. Dairy Farmers of America also paid a $34.4 million settlement to Southwestern dairy farmers in a separate antitrust case brought by farmers rather than consumers.Other food price-fixing cases have reached consumers through settlements. The $117 million pork price-fixing settlement, for example, covers grocery shoppers in 24 states.
What Happens Next
The defendants will have to be served and respond. Antitrust defendants commonly file a motion to dismiss, and here the cooperatives can be expected to rely on the Capper-Volstead exemption and to dispute that export sales raised domestic prices. If the case survives, it moves to discovery and, later, a decision on whether to certify a class. Cases like this usually take years.There is nothing to file now. If the case settles or the plaintiffs win, a court-approved notice would explain who qualifies and how to file a claim.
Questions
Is there a class action over milk and cheese prices?
Yes. Oriakhi v. National Milk Producers Federation, No. 2:26-cv-01093, was filed on October 5, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. It alleges dairy cooperatives used a shared export subsidy program to raise U.S. dairy prices. It is at the complaint stage; no class has been certified and there is nothing to claim yet.
Which dairy companies are named in the lawsuit?
The National Milk Producers Federation and 13 cooperatives: Agri-Mark, Bongards Creameries, Cooperative Milk Producers Association, Dairy Farmers of America, Lanco Dairy Farms, Lonestar Milk Producers, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (Maola Local Dairies), Michigan Milk Producers Association, Mount Joy Farmers Co-operative, Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold), Prairie Farms Dairy, Tillamook County Creamery Association and United Dairymen of Arizona.
What is Cooperatives Working Together?
Cooperatives Working Together, or CWT, is a farmer-funded program run by the National Milk Producers Federation. Member cooperatives contribute money that is used to help members win export sales of cheese, butter and other dairy products. The complaint says the program now operates as the NEXT Program.
Who would be in the proposed class?
People and businesses that bought dairy products for their own use, not directly from a defendant, from January 1, 2018 to the present, in the states whose antitrust or consumer protection laws the complaint invokes. The complaint names 41 states and the District of Columbia. The definition is a proposal until a court certifies a class.
Has CWT been sued before?
Yes. Earlier antitrust suits challenged CWT’s herd retirement program, which paid farmers to send dairy herds to slaughter. According to the new complaint, Edwards v. National Milk Producers Federation settled in 2016 for $52 million and First Impressions Salon v. National Milk Producers Federation settled in 2020 for $220 million. The new case targets the export assistance program instead.
Sources
• Class Action Complaint, Oriakhi v. National Milk Producers Federation, No. 2:26-cv-01093 (E.D. Va., filed October 5, 2026): complaint (PDF) and docket.• National Milk Producers Federation: member cooperatives.
