NMPF said it was pleased that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s final report released July 15 reaffirms dairy’s crucial role in a nutritious diet but expressed concern that the committee failed to recognize newer, broader science that shows the benefits of dairy foods at all fat levels.

“The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee restated what consumers already know – that regular dairy consumption offers essential nutrition that nourishes people throughout their lives,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Across different types of diets and throughout all stages of life, dairy products provide the nutrients people need to be healthy.”

But Mulhern said it was disappointing that the committee largely reflected long-held assumptions on saturated fat, despite numerous studies that have called traditional anti-fat guidance into question.

“We repeatedly called on the committee to take a fresh look at multiple studies that show beneficial or neutral effects of dairy on chronic disease risk at all fat levels,” Mulhern said. “Unfortunately, the DGAC report does not reflect this newer science.”

The DGAC’s final scientific advisory report, submitted to the secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, notes that Americans overall need more dairy in their diets, with 88 percent of them falling short of recommendations. That figure includes 79 percent of 9-13-year-olds, who rely heavily on the school-lunch program to meet nutritional needs. The report also highlights dairy’s unique place as a provider of key nutrients that otherwise would be under-consumed in American diets.

• Dairy is recommended for consumption within all three healthy eating patterns featured in the report, with three servings per day recommended in the Healthy U.S. style eating pattern and Healthy Vegetarian Style patterns and two servings per day in the Healthy-Mediterranean pattern;
• The committee recognized milk as a nutrient-rich beverage that contributes positively to under-consumed nutrients, including potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A and D, and others. Dairy was also recognized as a source of iodine, a nutrient of public health concern for pregnant women;
• Low-fat and nonfat dairy foods are recommended as nutrient-dense building blocks of a healthy diet; and
• In the committee’s first-ever recommendations for birth through 24 months, yogurt and cheese are recognized as complementary feeding options for infants ages 6-12 months, and dairy foods (milk, cheese and yogurt) are included in healthy eating patterns for toddlers 12-24 months.

The scientific report recommendations will be used to develop the new dietary guidelines which are expected to be released by the end of the year. NMPF will be submitting written comments on the report, which are due August 13, and is leading a call-to-action campaign to thank the panel for its work while sharing farmer concerns. Dairy supporters can join the campaign here.

The intensity of U.S. events in recent months has made it very easy, and sometimes necessary, in the dairy sector to be laser-focused on domestic markets, with never-before-seen price swings and a renaissance in consumer appreciation at the retail level.

But even as these challenges have whipsawed markets and led to a rollercoaster of responses, positive trends are emerging in dairy markets abroad – ones that deserve more attention now and in months ahead.

U.S. dairy’s continued evolution into an export powerhouse has quietly been reaching new milestones. In May, monthly export volumes were the highest in more than two years. Robust gains were driven by record sales of nonfat dry milk/skim milk power and rising cheese volumes. This occurred despite COVID-19 disruptions that have spurred lockdowns worldwide. Volumes reached a new record in Southeast Asia, U.S. dairy’s biggest regional market and a crucial one to dairy’s future.

Total export volume in May was 18 percent higher than in the same period a year ago. Total export value also improved, 8 percent over year-ago levels.

While trade’s torrid pace in May isn’t expected to be maintained, continued strength is expected when June export numbers begin to be announced on Aug. 5. For 2020 so far, dairy export volumes through May are up 10 percent and value has risen 12 percent. And most tellingly for dairy producers, trade is again becoming a bigger portion of overall demand for U.S. milk. Exports were equivalent to 17.4 percent of U.S. milk solids production in May, the highest rate since April 2018.

Nor was this success the result of perfect trade conditions, as evidenced by lower sales to Mexico, the largest U.S. dairy trade partner. Diversifying and increasing sales to many countries around the world underscore just how successful exporters were elsewhere while noting that important work continues to be needed to boost sales even more.

About that work. Dairy has the great fortune to have in its corner the U.S. Dairy Export Council, which provides a unique platform to unite the entire industry through our joint trade policy work. The latter work is in addition to USDEC’s work with foreign buyers and U.S. sellers to advance trade worldwide.

At NMPF, we’re proud of our work with Cooperatives Working Together, which assists in making U.S. products even more attractive abroad, patiently building the foundations for long-term industry success. We’re also active members of the Consortium for Common Food Names, which strives for a level playing field for U.S. cheeses who face discriminatory practices on food names that are continually encouraged by the European Union as it seeks its own trade agreements.

Work across the entire dairy sector comes into play as we pursue important policy priorities that seek to enhance opportunity for our hard-working producers. Some of our efforts include defending gains we’ve already made. Others seek new frontiers with opportunities oversees. Highlights of the current trade agenda include:

 

• Getting the full benefit of the bargain struck on new market access and trade rules with Canada and Mexico under USMCA;
• Working with the U.S. government to resolve impediments to trade in dairy markets around the world including in Mexico, South America, India, Indonesia, the Middle East, and more;
• Co-sponsoring a virtual Townhall series designed to spur discussion on the importance of trade to America’s farmers and agricultural manufacturers (find out more here);
• Pushing for strong dairy results in ongoing trade agreement negotiations with the UK, a major dairy importing country, and with Kenya, a country with high dairy consumption for its region and notable trade barriers to dairy that an FTA could knock down and;
• Advocating for the launch of additional trade deals with key markets, such as concluding a comprehensive agreement with Japan and pursuing FTAs with Southeast Asian countries.

Dairy export markets also promise to be challenging for the rest of the year. China’s purchasing decisions will be pivotal; Latin American, in particular Mexican, response to coronavirus holds profound implications for those markets; and higher U.S. domestic cheese prices pose trade-competition challenges.

But at a time of incredible uncertainty and unprecedented demands for resilience across our industry, trade has helped steady dairy demand even as domestic markets have faced severe disruptions. That’s given the industry something to cheer about and build upon.

Even with the intense focus on dairy’s present, it’s important to remember dairy’s future, for which trade is key. Thanks to the efforts of U.S. dairy producers and processors, and those who represent them worldwide, that future is bright.

Public comments on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee’s scientific report may be submitted until Aug. 13. It’s a great time for dairy voices to be heard, said Miquela Hanselman, NMPF’s manager for regulatory affairs, in an NMPF Dairy Defined podcast.

“The committee, USDA and HHS work really hard to put together these guidelines to promote a healthy lifestyle for Americans,” Hanselman said. “And dairy is an important part of that.”

Dairy advocates interested in commenting on the guidelines can join NMPF’s call to action here. The guidelines contain numerous affirmations of dairy’s role in a healthy diet, including:

• Dairy is recommended for consumption within all three healthy eating patterns featured in the report, with three servings per day recommended in the Healthy U.S. style eating pattern and Healthy Vegetarian Style patterns and two servings per day in the Healthy-Mediterranean pattern;
• The committee recognized milk as a nutrient-rich beverage that contributes positively to under-consumed nutrients, including potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A and D, and others;
• Low-fat and nonfat dairy foods are recommended as nutrient-dense building blocks of a healthy diet; and
• In the committee’s first-ever recommendations for birth through 24 months, yogurt and cheese are recognized as complementary feeding options for infants ages 6-12 months, and dairy foods (milk, cheese and yogurt) are included in healthy eating patterns for toddlers 12-24 months.

To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.

 

A diverse range of farm and agricultural industries is praising a bipartisan Senate letter sent today to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue urging stronger international safeguards to protect U.S. exporters using common food and wine terms. Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led this effort that resulted in support from a total of 61 Senators.

The letter requests that the U.S. government enhance their  common food name protections as a core policy objective in all trade-related discussions. This is a direct challenge to the European Union (EU)’s misuse of protections meant for valid geographical indications (GIs) to instead block American exports of common or generic food and wine terms, such as parmesan, feta, bologna or chateau. These unjustified trade barriers harm American farmers, limit choices for consumers and have put manufacturing jobs across an essential sector at risk.

Signers of the letter included several senators holding leadership positions on committees with jurisdiction over this issue, notably the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. In addition, the letter also includes the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

Farm and agricultural industries commending the letter include:

• Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN)
• U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC)
• American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)
• North America Meat Institute (NAMI)
• National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)
• National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF)
• Wine Institute (WI)

“The United States has been fighting the EU’s unfair GI trade policies with one hand tied behind its back while the EU has been battling with its full force. This unbalanced approach has helped the EU in its efforts to block U.S. exports of products using common food and wine terms, causing serious harm to America’s farmers, ranchers, food manufacturers and exporters. We applaud Senators Thune, Stabenow Tillis and Baldwin for leading this effort to meet the EU’s efforts to block American exports with an equal force to promote fair trade and ensure the free flow of products using all tools available to the U.S. government,” said Jaime Castaneda, Executive Director of CCFN.

“We encourage USTR and USDA to immediately establish the explicit protection of common food names as a primary policy objective in all trade discussions. The overwhelming bipartisan support demonstrated by the U.S. Senate for this goal underscores the importance of breaking down these GI-related barriers and achieving greater export safeguards for U.S. cheeses and other common name products. By putting protections for common food and wine terms first, we will ensure that American-made products do not come in last,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC.

“Protection for the use of common food names will greatly assist in the export of high-quality American agricultural products around the world.  We applaud the U.S. government for their efforts to remove  trade barriers that block our exports,” said Zippy Duvall, President of AFBF.

“The European Union has for too long unjustifiably and erroneously attempted to restrict trade in common food name products, including meat exports from the U.S. The policy advocated in the bipartisan letter sent today to USDA and USTR will advance critical safeguards for common food name products in international trade and will enable America’s meat and poultry packers and processors, agricultural producers and food manufacturers to compete on a level playing field with their counterparts in the EU. We thank Sens. Thune, Stabenow, Tillis and Baldwin for their leadership, and we stand ready to work with the Administration to defend against anti-competitive and protectionist policies pursued by trading partners that serve only to impede U.S. meat and poultry exports,” said Julie Anna Potts, CEO of NAMI.

“As tireless advocates for U.S. food and agriculture exports, NASDA members understand the importance of protecting the use of common food names. Securing clear assurances from trading partners that preserve the value of U.S. market access must be an integral part of U.S. trade policy. NASDA looks forward to supporting our federal partners as they continue to seek trade deals that increase sales of U.S. products around the globe,” said Dr. Barb Glenn, CEO of NASDA.

“Europe has demonstrated it will not yield in its efforts to erect trade barriers and limit fair competition from high-quality American-made food and wine products, including U.S. cheeses. A comprehensive long-term U.S. trade strategy is required to protect American farmers and food producers. The letter sent today by Senators Thune, Stabenow, Tillis and Baldwin is a critical step forward for advancing freer trade,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.

“We have watched time and again as the EU has gone well beyond protecting legitimate GIs to erect trade barriers that benefit their own producers at our expense. The recent EU-China agreement on GIs is a perfect example of how the EU abuses GIs for their own gain. We are grateful to these Senators for saying enough is enough, the U.S. must do more to ensure a level playing field for common food names, grape varietal names and traditional terms,” said Bobby Koch, President and CEO of Wine Institute.

They called it “Butterine,” and it was the “innovation” of its times.

But it was an imposter. Dairy fought its labeling chicanery, with outcomes that have benefited consumers ever since.

That’s why everyone should remember – and be thankful for — the Butter Act.

Sunday, Aug. 2, is the anniversary of what was officially named the Oleomargarine Act, signed by President Grover Cleveland in 1886. The product of heated Congressional debate, what became remembered as the Butter Act of 1886 created what to this day remains the only standard of identity for a food product set by Congress rather than regulators.

It was also a precursor to the food-safety system that protects U.S. consumers to this day.

Context: In 1886, the United States was living in the Wild West, literally – the Gunfight at the OK Corral had happened only five years earlier. The food arena’s Wild West was marked by an utter absence of consumer protections from sometimes-deadly food swindles. Honest dairy farmers struggled to protect their reputations from unscrupulous makers of products like “swill milk” – concoctions heavily adulterated to boost profits – and pathogen-bearing raw milk that sickened families in the days before pasteurization.

Enter margarine. Invented in France in 1869, mass production in the U.S. was quickly dominated by Chicago meatpackers (soon to be immortalized in a famous novel about their manufacturing practices — “The Jungle,” by Upton Sinclair) who saw a profitable use for previously wasted  animal fat. Made cheaply and sold widely, margarine was promoted as a suitable butter substitute, even though its main similarity came from the yellow dye added to make consumers think it was a dairy equivalent.

With no restrictions on marketing claims and no legal definition of what butter was and wasn’t, animal-fat purveyors intentionally blurred the line between butter and “butterine,” sometimes attempting to pass off what dairy advocates called “bogus butter” as real. Dairy farmers worried that, over time, a lack of clear distinction would erode consumer and create a less transparent marketplace. States began passing patchworks of laws regulating, taxing and identifying oleomargarine – sometimes by requiring it to be dyed pink. But as the patchwork proliferated, a national solution was clearly needed.

Congress debated. The list of dairy’s opponents was long, including the meatpackers; industries that didn’t think the government should regulate private economic activity, interstate commerce, agriculture or public health; and newspaper naysayers who wondered why dairy didn’t simply accept “innovation” and found butter disputes faintly ridiculous. In the end, passage was overwhelming and bipartisan, with opposition mostly confined to lawmakers from southern states who argued that defining butter violated “states’ rights.”

Dairy won. And by establishing a role for the federal government in regulating food, consumers won as well — in ways that would turn out to be much more profound than the simple differences between two products.

Twenty years later, spurred on by “The Jungle” – which exposed deplorable conditions among the same meatpackers who opposed the Butter Act – Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, the foundation of today’s food-safety regulation. Standards of identity that define what foods are and aren’t became accepted necessities for a fair marketplace. Product formulations became more transparent. And marketing claims that try to peddle one product by inappropriately implying it has the qualities of another were stifled by a federal government now empowered to protect consumers.

At least, when that government chooses to act. While swill milk is gone and the Wild West has been at least somewhat tamed, today’s self-styled “innovators” still try to gain an unfair marketing edge by misleading labeling implying they’re something they’re not. Think plant-based “butters” that are really nothing more than margarines at best. Think artificially concocted liquid mixtures labeled as “milks” that are nutritionally more like a high-school chemistry project than a natural, wholesome food.

With fewer dairy farmers to speak up and a better-funded opposition, the fight for integrity is tougher now than in 1886. But history teaches us the battle’s worth fighting, and the marketplace works better when there is truthful and non-misleading labeling. Are consumers better off today knowing that butter is butter and margarine is margarine? Absolutely. Did margarine find an appropriate place in the market, even though it was no longer called “butterine?” Yes, it did, despite their protestations. And did the federal government, after decades of prodding, do the right thing in protecting product integrity and requiring clear labeling? Obviously, yes again. But none of it happened without sustained, sincere effort and appropriate and effective government action.

Progress often comes via fits, false starts and setbacks. But it happens. On August 2, look in your refrigerator and remember how butter helped change the world. Be thankful for the nineteenth-century crusaders who helped ensure it’s there for you. And remember how our responses to today’s challenges will shape tomorrow’s world. Let’s celebrate the Butter Act and insist the U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforce it against today’s equivalent of yesteryear’s butter imposters.

The House of Representatives-approved appropriations bill funding the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration for the next fiscal year includes key advances for dairy which the National Milk Producers Federation applauds. The bill, which passed with bipartisan support today, includes provisions that were top priorities for NMPF as it works to assist dairy producers nationwide.

“Today’s House appropriations bill represents key gains for dairy and all of agriculture,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest organization of U.S. dairy farmers. “We especially thank the lawmakers who took extra steps to assist producers, and we look forward to working with senators as legislation advances through Congress.”

Among dairy’s gains, the bill:

• Urges FDA in multiple ways to enforce dairy product standards of identity. Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT), with bipartisan support from 18 of his colleagues, added an amendment on the House floor directing FDA to allocate $5 million to enforce federal rules that reserve dairy-product terms for real dairy products. The committee report also directs FDA to finally start enforcing dairy product standards of identity pursuant to a review process it began two years ago following pressure from NMPF and Congress.
• Allocates $10 million for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, a USDA program aimed at connecting those working in agriculture to stress assistance and support programs.
• Provides $990 million, a 78 percent boost from the current fiscal year, for ReConnect, the USDA Rural Development program working to provide broadband service to eligible rural areas.
• Sets aside $6 million for the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives program, which provides direct technical assistance and grants to dairy businesses to further the development, production, marketing, and distribution of dairy products. While the House Appropriations Committee initially provided $1 million for the program, Congressmen Peter Welch and Bryan Steil (R-WI) secured an additional $5 million with an amendment passed by the entire House of Representatives.
• Allocates $1 million to the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives Projects, a program created in the 2018 Farm Bill to create pilot programs to boost milk consumption among SNAP households.

The Senate has yet to begin work on its own appropriations measures.

Well–targeted incentives that encourage climate-friendly investments among dairy producers of all sizes would greatly aid the entire dairy industry in its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, potentially making earlier achievement possible, Indiana dairy farmer Mike McCloskey said in a hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit.

“We have committed in the dairy industry that we are going to go to net zero,” said McCloskey, chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation’s Environmental Issues Committee. “We can get there with your support.”

The dairy industry has adopted an ambitious goal of becoming a carbon-neutral sector of the economy by 2050 through its Net-Zero Initiative, a partnership among farmers and the entire production chain. But with policies that encourage dairy farmers to widely adopt emissions-reduction technologies such as anaerobic digesters, spur private investment and alleviate market uncertainty, the goal could likely be reached even sooner, McCloskey said.

McCloskey added that dairy’s progress toward net-zero goals could create “thousands and thousands of jobs” and revitalize rural economies as industries spring up around clean technologies.

As the largest organization representing U.S. dairy farmers, NMPF is committed to industrywide net-zero goals, which will be greatly aided by public-policy solutions.

Note: Video of McCloskey’s testimony and the entire hearing can be viewed here and written testimony can be accessed here.

Sharing how his own farm is evolving to carbon neutrality and how the dairy sector is aggressively moving to become carbon-neutral by 2050, Indiana dairy farmer Mike McCloskey highlighted ways federal incentives can further help dairy toward its net-zero emissions future.

“For some reason, repurposing cow manure does not have the same shine as an array of solar panels or the grandeur of a wind farm on the horizon,” said McCloskey, chairman of NMPF’s Environmental Issues Committee and a pioneer in carbon-friendly dairy-farming practices, in written testimony prepared for a hearing today of the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit.

But aligning the incentives needed for dairy to widely adopt anaerobic digesters and other emissions-mitigation technologies deserves greater attention, as it will only enhance the energy transition already encouraged by federal support for better-known clean-energy sources, he said.

“Anaerobic digestion provides clean energy and several other environmental benefits – such as avoided methane emissions, mitigated odor and air pollution, and minimized nutrient loading,” McCloskey said.

The dairy industry has adopted an ambitious goal of becoming a carbon-neutral sector of the economy by 2050 through its Net-Zero Initiative, a partnership among farmers and the entire production chain. As the national organization representing U.S. dairy farmers, NMPF is committed to these sustainability goals, which will be greatly aided by public-policy solutions.

“The Net Zero Initiative is about each dairy farm – regardless of size, region, or production style – contributing what it can, where it can,” McCloskey said. “No individual farm will be held to the Net Zero target, yet all will play a part. I, and my fellow dairy farmers, look forward to working with Congress.”

Note: Today’s hearing begins at 10 a.m. EDT and can be viewed here.

The Dairy Margin Coverage Program and other federal risk management programs have served farmers well during the coronavirus crisis and will continue to offer effective aid, as long as farmers participate, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said in an NMPF podcast.

“Dairy now has, I think, the best safety net of any part of agriculture, especially for small dairy farmers,” said Peterson, a Democrat from Minnesota, in the podcast released today. “They, no doubt, have the best safety net that there is right now, if they utilize it.”

Peterson also said that emergency aid provided by Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been necessary to keep farmers afloat – but financial risks to farms haven’t ended. He also reflected on how politics has evolved during his time in Washington and his own place in it as one of its most conservative Democrats.

To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.

Dairy farmers nationwide are taking the initiative to protect their workforce, with producers adjusting their operations and refining protocols to mitigate risk while also preventing and controlling the spread of coronavirus. The farm workforce is not immune to this public health crisis, and managers must remain vigilant so as not to jeopardize the health of their workforce, their families and the community at large, as well as business continuity of the farm.

New and updated guidance for the prevention and management of coronavirus on dairy farms is listed below, along with a compilation of federal assistance offerings for which many producers are eligible. Visit www.nmpf.org/coronavirus for additional resources and the latest updates.

 

WORKFORCE CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION & MANAGEMENT

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have issued new and updated guidance to minimize the risk of coronavirus to dairy farmers, family, employees and essential professional and service providers.

• Interim Guidance for Agriculture Workers and Employers, CDC and U.S. Department of Labor
• Agricultural Employer Checklist for Creating a COVID-19 Assessment and Control Plan, CDC
• Dairy Farmer Handbook on Coronavirus Prevention and Management, NMPF
• Recommended Protocols for Dairy Farms When an Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19, NMPF
• Staying Proactive on the Farm: COVID-19, Adapted from Dairy Farmers of America materials
• Poster: What You Need to Know Now About Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Your Dairy, Alltech

 

Resources in Spanish

• Interim Guidance for Agriculture Workers and Employers, CDC and U.S. Department of Labor
• Dairy Farmer Handbook on Coronavirus Prevention and Management, NMPF
• Staying Proactive on the Farm: COVID-19, Adapted from Dairy Farmers of America materials
• Poster: What You Need to Know Now About Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Your Dairy, Alltech
• Video: What is a Virus and How Can We Protect Our Loved Ones? Alltech

 

AVAILABLE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The federal government has responded to NMPF’s assessment of dairy’s needs amid the coronavirus crisis, offering payments to producers and purchases of dairy products, along with replenished loan programs to assist small businesses. Eligible farmers are encouraged to apply for assistance to mitigate losses they have incurred over the past several months.

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting CFAP applications through August 28, 2020. Submit an application online or call and set up an appointment with the local USDA Farm Service Agency to apply. To date, 20,000 dairy farmers have received more than $1.2 billion in payments through this program.

• USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Webpage
• USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program: Frequently Asked Questions by Dairy Farmers
• What Dairy Farmers Need to Know About the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

 

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program

The Small Business Administration is accepting EIDL and EIDL Advance applications. Funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Webpage
• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Application
• What Dairy Farmers Need to Know About COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans

 

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

The Small Business Administration’s PPP provides forgivable loans for businesses that meet certain criteria.

• Paycheck Protection Program Webpage
• Paycheck Protection Program Details and Guidance
• What Dairy Farmers Need to Know About the Paycheck Protection Program
• Paycheck Protection Program Eligible Lenders