NMPF’s Government Relations team offers an issues update for the 2020 NMPF Virtual Town Hall.
Tag: dairy safety net
NMPF Chair Mooney Says Dairy is Meeting “Biggest Challenges of Our Lifetimes”
The extreme disruptions and financial upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have created real struggles for dairy producers – and the industry has responded by rising to an unprecedented occasion, said Randy Mooney, chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation, to delegates Monday at NMPF’s first-ever virtual annual meeting.
“We haven’t landed safely yet, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that we as an organization and an industry have risen to the biggest challenges of our lifetimes, and that we’ll be able to look back with pride on our response to the pandemic,” Mooney said in his remarks, this week’s Dairy Defined podcast. The podcast can also be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and Google Play.
NMPF’s annual meeting continues today and is free of charge to registrants. More information about the meeting — the largest dairy-farmer policy gathering in the U.S. — is here, and registration information is here.
Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.
Dairy Market Report – October 2020
NMPF’s Bjerga on the Dairy Economy and the 2020 Elections
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses the way forward for dairy disaster assistance and the impact farmers could have on the 2020 election in key swing states, on RFD-TV.
USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage Program Now Open for 2021 Enrollment
With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis teaching hard lessons on risk management throughout agriculture, and with dairy margins expected to be volatile over the next year, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) urges farmers to sign up for maximum coverage in 2021 under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.
DMC is designed to ensure that dairy farmers can protect themselves against financial catastrophe. Despite forecasts in late 2019 predicting that DMC was unlikely to generate payments in 2020, margins fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade in the first half of this year, triggering payments that kept many dairies afloat. The current USDA forecast indicates margins will drop below $9.50/cwt. in the first half of 2021. DMC coverage offers certainty in times of need, allowing for better financial planning and faster payment when necessary.
Enrollment for the 2021 DMC program year starts today and runs through Dec. 11. See below and visit USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s DMC page for more information.
ELIGIBILITY
All U.S. dairy operations are eligible for DMC. An operation can be run either by a single producer or multiple producers who commercially produce and market milk. Each producer on an operation must share the risk of producing milk and make contributions (including land, labor, management, equipment, or capital) to the dairy’s operation at least equal to the individual or entity’s share of the operation’s proceeds.
An eligible dairy operation must:
- Have a production history determined by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).
- Be registered to participate during a signup announced by FSA.
- Pay a $100 administrative fee annually for each year of participation, except if the dairy operation qualifies for a waiver for limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmers and ranchers.
A dairy operated by more than one producer still will be registered as a single operation. Producers who operate two or more dairies need to register each operation separately to cover that operation.
Eligible DMC participants are also eligible to participate in the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Producers Program and the Dairy Revenue Protection Program. Both are administered by the USDA Risk Management Agency.
COVERAGE LEVELS
Producers have multiple options for coverage each year. Basic catastrophic coverage of $4/cwt. is free, except for the $100 annual administrative fee. Farms can insure their first 5 million pounds of milk production history, designated as Tier I, in 50-cent increments from $4/cwt. up to $9.50/cwt. Annual production above 5 million pounds falls into Tier II. Coverage options in Tier II range from $4/cwt. to $8/cwt. Producers must also select a coverage percentage of the dairy operation’s production history ranging from 5 percent to 95 percent, in 5-percent increments.
The following table provides the premium schedule.
HOW TO APPLY
FSA opens enrollment for DMC on Oct. 13 for calendar year 2021. The deadline to enroll for 2021 coverage is Dec. 11.
All dairy farmers who want 2021 coverage must visit their local USDA Service Center office to pay the annual administrative fee, which is $100 for all coverage levels. Producers must visit their local office even if they locked in coverage in 2019 for five years to take advantage of the 25% premium discount offered the first year of the program.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
USDA offers a variety of programs that have helped dairy farmers in addition to DMC, including insurance, disaster assistance, and conservation programs. Most recently, the first round of aid under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program provided $1.75 billion in direct relief to dairy producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19 in early 2020. Signup is now underway for a second round of CFAP payments, offering further assistance for dairy producers and many other eligible producers. CFAP 2 applications are being accepted by FSA offices now through Dec. 11.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
For more information, visit the farmers.gov DMC webpage, or contact your local USDA Service Center. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-center-locator.
Looking To 2021, All Dairy Farmers Should Sign Up for DMC, NMPF Says
With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis teaching hard lessons on risk management throughout agriculture, and with dairy margins expected to be volatile over the next year, the National Milk Producers Federation is urging farmers to sign up for maximum 2021 coverage under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Margin Coverage program. DMC signup begins today.
“The DMC emphatically proved its worth this year, as payouts rapidly reacted to unprecedented price plunges and protected farmers exactly when they most needed help,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Coronavirus-related volatility in dairy markets is expected to continue well into 2021, with DMC payments a possibility. That makes it essential that farmers include DMC coverage in the robust risk-management plans they will need to ensure financial stability.”
DMC, the main risk-protection tool for dairy farmers enacted in the 2018 Farm Bill, is designed to promote stable revenues and protect against financial catastrophe on some or all of a farmer’s milk. Despite forecasts in late 2019 predicting that DMC assistance wouldn’t be needed by farmers in 2020, margins instead fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade in the first half of this year, triggering payments that undoubtedly kept many participating dairies afloat. And unlike difficult-to-predict federal disaster assistance that’s provided via specific legislation or administrative action, DMC coverage offers certainty in times of need, allowing for better financial planning and faster payment when necessary.
DMC also offers:
- Affordable higher coverage levels that permit all dairy producers to insure margins up to $9.50/cwt. on their Tier 1 (first five million pounds) production history. Recent margin trends in reference to that $9.50 threshold is included in the graphic below.
- Affordable $5.00 coverage that offers meaningful catastrophic coverage for farms of all sizes.
NMPF has a resource page on its website with more information about the DMC.
Dairy Defined Podcast: Sustainability, in All Its Forms, Key to Dairy’s Future, Vold Says
On National Farmer’s Day, dairy farmer Suzanne Vold is highlighting dairy’s commitments to the environment and a net-zero future, noting that her colleagues are already effective stewards and are committed to doing more.
“We need to work with our partners in government. We need to work with partners in academia, dairy science departments, and agronomy departments and our colleges and universities. And we need to work with our cooperatives, the companies that process our milk into products to sell,” said Vold in the latest Dairy Defined podcast, released today. “But we have to start the work somewhere, and we have to start the work now.”
Vold, with her husband, brother-in-law and two part-time employees, runs Dorrich Dairy, a 400-cow, fourth-generation dairy farm in western Minnesota. In the podcast, she also discusses specific practices on her farm that save money and create potential revenues as well as improve water and soil health – as well as the importance of other initiatives important to dairy and agriculture, from the Dairy Margin Coverage program to rural broadband.
The full podcast is here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.
NMPF’s Bjerga on the Importance of DMC Signup
Signup for the 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage begins on Tuesday, Oct. 13. NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, breaks down how DMC provided effective disaster assistance for farmers, and why 2021 is shaping up to be a year when participation will be important for all dairy producers. On RFD-TV.
https://www.rfdtv.com/story/42746824/national-milk-producers-federation-on-the-2021-dairy-margin-coverage-program
NMPF Hails Funding Plan, Calls for Further COVID Relief
The National Milk Producers Federation today thanked Congress for sending bipartisan legislation to President Trump that extends government funding until Dec. 11 and urged Congress and the White House to reach agreement on another coronavirus relief package.
“We are glad Congress reached a government funding deal that provides important support to farmers and families who have weathered incredibly difficult challenges all year long,” said NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern. “This measure not only avoids a government shutdown; it also ensures that additional COVID-19 assistance can be provided as further needs arise and provides important nutrition assistance to families in need.”
The legislation passed by the House and Senate immediately replenishes the borrowing authority for USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. The CCC funds farm bill initiatives, including the Dairy Margin Coverage Program, as well as the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the second installment of which Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced earlier this month. Notably, it includes $8 billion in nutrition assistance and extends flexibility for school districts to make meals more affordable and accessible for students during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
NMPF hopes that, with the government funding debate resolved, Congress and the administration will now agree on another coronavirus relief bill. The House earlier this week released a revised version of its Heroes Act, which again includes important provisions such as a dairy product donation program that would help farmers and consumers. NMPF is continuing its push for additional, equitable support to all producers that reflects the losses they have suffered, no matter the size of the operation.
“The House and Senate both provide support for agriculture in their coronavirus relief proposals, and the House is reaffirming that support,” Mulhern said. “Congress and the administration need to bridge their differences and finalize a bipartisan plan that continues to provide needed disaster assistance to all dairy producers. The issues are challenging, but we believe policymakers are up to the task.”
NMPF’s Bjerga Discusses Natural-Disaster Resources
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses NMPF’s new resource page for dairy farmers experiencing natural disasters and how that effort, as well as NMPF’s coronavirus page, is set up to serve dairy farmers and all of agriculture in times of need, on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast.
NMPF’s Bjerga on USMCA, Need for Disaster Assistance
NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, discusses a Senate effort to keep Canada and Mexico accountable on USMCA dairy provisions, as well as the need for additional dairy disaster assistance including USDA commodity purchases, on RFD-TV.
NMPF’s Bleiberg Breaks Down Congressional Plans for Dairy
Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s vice president for government affairs, discusses where congressional assistance for dairy producers may be heading in the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast. Challenges include: appropriate aid for farms of differing sizes and structures; the extent of USDA food purchases for nutrition programs; and just where the Senate lands with its final package.
