USDA announces dairy program enrollment figures
January 12, 2015 |08:14 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that some 23,000 dairy operators — more than half of all dairy farms in the country — have enrolled in the Margin Protection Program, the new safety-net program created by the 2014 farm bill.
MPP provides financial assistance to participating farmers when the margin — the difference between the price of milk and feed costs — falls below the coverage level selected by the farmer.
“Enrollment far exceeded our expectations in the first year,” said Vilsack.
“When you compare the initial enrollment rate for the Margin Protection Program to the longstanding federal crop insurance program, where participation ranges from 30 percent to 80 percent depending on the crop, it’s clear that these outreach efforts made a difference.”
The three-month enrollment period ended December 19.
Unlike earlier dairy programs, the Margin Protection Program offers dairy producers a range of choices of protection that are best suited for their operation. Starting with basic coverage for an administrative fee of $100, producers can select higher levels of coverage at affordable incremental premiums. More than half of applicants selected higher coverage beyond the basic level, USDA said.
There will be another open enrollment period between July 1 and September 30, for coverage in 2016.
House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., who worked closely with the dairy industry in the development of the program, said in a news release, “I am pleased so many producers took the time to learn about the new safety net and chose to enroll in the program. I hope that USDA will continue their outreach and education efforts so more producers can learn about the protection this program provides.”
National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern called the enrollment level “an encouraging start to a crucial new safety net program for our industry,” but also said that anecdotal reports indicated that the sign-up extensions granted after Thanksgiving, coupled with a sharp downturn in milk price forecasts for 2015, encouraged additional participation before the December 19 cutoff.
USDA has not released the volume of milk production covered under the program, Mulhern noted.
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson called the dairy farmers’ enrollment figures “great news” and said the signup showed “clear evidence that they need good risk management tools in hand.”
▪ USDA Farm Service Agency — Dairy Margin Protection Program
▪ National Milk Producers Federation — Margin Protection Program
MPP provides financial assistance to participating farmers when the margin — the difference between the price of milk and feed costs — falls below the coverage level selected by the farmer.
“Enrollment far exceeded our expectations in the first year,” said Vilsack.
“When you compare the initial enrollment rate for the Margin Protection Program to the longstanding federal crop insurance program, where participation ranges from 30 percent to 80 percent depending on the crop, it’s clear that these outreach efforts made a difference.”
The three-month enrollment period ended December 19.
Unlike earlier dairy programs, the Margin Protection Program offers dairy producers a range of choices of protection that are best suited for their operation. Starting with basic coverage for an administrative fee of $100, producers can select higher levels of coverage at affordable incremental premiums. More than half of applicants selected higher coverage beyond the basic level, USDA said.
There will be another open enrollment period between July 1 and September 30, for coverage in 2016.
House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., who worked closely with the dairy industry in the development of the program, said in a news release, “I am pleased so many producers took the time to learn about the new safety net and chose to enroll in the program. I hope that USDA will continue their outreach and education efforts so more producers can learn about the protection this program provides.”
National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern called the enrollment level “an encouraging start to a crucial new safety net program for our industry,” but also said that anecdotal reports indicated that the sign-up extensions granted after Thanksgiving, coupled with a sharp downturn in milk price forecasts for 2015, encouraged additional participation before the December 19 cutoff.
USDA has not released the volume of milk production covered under the program, Mulhern noted.
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson called the dairy farmers’ enrollment figures “great news” and said the signup showed “clear evidence that they need good risk management tools in hand.”
▪ USDA Farm Service Agency — Dairy Margin Protection Program
▪ National Milk Producers Federation — Margin Protection Program
