A news release today from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) stated that, “[USDA] today announced that dairy producers who elected to participate in the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle Program (LGM-Dairy) now have the opportunity to participate in the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) for 2018 coverage. Sign-up will take place March 25 through May 10, 2019.
“Producers enrolled in 2018 LGM-Dairy, administered by [RMA], previously were determined by the 2014 Farm Bill to be ineligible for coverage under MPP-Dairy, a safety net program available through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).
“‘The 2018 Farm Bill included substantial changes to USDA dairy programs,’ said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. ‘This includes the ability for producers with LGM coverage to retroactively enroll in MPP-Dairy for 2018. It also integrated recent improvements to the MPP-Dairy in the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, beginning with the 2019 calendar year.'”
The RMA update noted that, “The MPP-Dairy program offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the national all-milk price and the national average feed cost — the margin — falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producers in a dairy operation. LGM-Dairy is an insurance product that provides protection when feed costs rise or milk prices drop. The gross margin is the market value of milk minus feed costs.”
“Eligible producers can enroll during the sign-up period at their local USDA service center. To locate your office, visit farmers.gov.”
