Dairy producers can now enroll in the Dairy Margin Coverage
(DMC) for calendar year 2020. USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened signup
Monday for the program that helps producers manage economic risk brought on by
milk price and feed cost disparities.
"We know it's tough out there for American farmers,
including our dairy producers," said Bill Northey, Under Secretary for
Farm Production and Conservation. "As Secretary Perdue said, farmers are
pretty good at managing through tough times, and we know that more dairy
farmers will be able to survive with this 2018 Farm Bill and its risk
mitigation measures, like the Dairy Margin Coverage program."
The DMC program offers reasonably priced protection to dairy
producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed
cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.
The deadline to enroll in DMC for 2020 is Dec. 13, 2019.
Dairy farmers earned more than $300 million dollars from the
program in 2019 so far. Producers are encouraged to take advantage of this very
important risk management tool for 2020.
All producers who want 2020 coverage, even those who took
advantage of the 25 percent premium discount by locking in the coverage level
for five years of margin protection coverage are required to visit the office
during this signup period to pay the annual administrative fee.
"Dairy producers should definitely consider coverage
for 2020 as even the slightest drop in the margin can trigger payments,"
said Northey. "Dairy producers should consider enrolling in DMC to guard
against what has been, for several years, an extremely unforgiving
market."