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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, March 09, 2025
This is the second episode of a five-part podcast series exploring a wide range of issues in the dairy industry. In this episode, farm broadcasters Spencer Chase and Ben Nuelle report on the various changes in dairy policy in recent memory.
After several years of financial bleeding, dairy producers are expected to sign up in droves for the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, which this year is guaranteed to provide payments well in excess of the premiums farmers will pay.
The new farm bill largely preserves the commodity and conservation programs but it includes some significant improvements for dairy producers and also would raise price floors for sugar and other commodities.
USDA has approved the sale of the first revenue protection insurance policy for dairy producers, allowing them to buy coverage for the first quarter of 2019.
The Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft farm bill would make additional improvements for dairy producers and the Agriculture Risk Coverage program while expanding the Conservation Reserve Program and renewing a research foundation and other popular programs that are slated to run out of money when the current farm bill expires.
The Republican chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee hope to release a draft of their farm bill this week, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promises to move it quickly to the floor.
Dairy farmers are reminded that they have until Friday, June 8, to sign up for the Margin Protection Program. The original deadline was June 1, but it was extended by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Milk producers can start signing up next week in the newly overhauled Margin Protection Program, which is more likely to provide payments to dairy farms during periods of low prices than the original version.
USDA has approved a landmark new revenue insurance plan for dairy producers, and companies are likely to bring out additional new products for the livestock industry now that Congress has lifted an underwriting cap, says USDA’s chief economist.
