Producers have until Dec. 11 to sign up
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
American dairy farmers can now sign up for an industry risk management program.
Starting Oct. 13, until Dec. 11, producers can enroll in the Dairy Margin Coverage program (DMC). Dec. 11 is also the deadline for all farmers to sign up for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2.
DMC “is a wonderful program for producers, especially those who have between 200 and 250 cows,” Marin Bozic, an ag policy specialist at the University of Minnesota, told Farms.com. “It’s an effective risk management program for smaller family farms.”
DMC is a “voluntary, insurance-style program that makes payments when the national average income-over-feed-cost margin falls below a farmer-selected coverage level,” the American Farm Bureau Federation explained in March.
Dairy producers can choose between two tiers of coverage.
Tier one coverage covers 5 million pounds of milk or less. Farmers can pay 15 cents per hundredweight and receive coverage for up to $9.50 per hundredweight.
Tier two coverage covers any production exceeding five million pounds.
Producers who are unsure whether to sign up for the program can consult the USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage Decision Tool.
Industry educators encourage farmers to sign up for DMC.
“Farmers should sign up for the 15 cents per cwt coverage,” Craig Williams, a dairy team educator with Penn State Extension, told Farms.com. “In the past five years, 49 out of 68 months has had payment.”