Enrollment for the 2026 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program is open now through February 26. All dairy farmers are encouraged to enroll, as it provides an effective safety net for small and mid-sized operations as well as affordable catastrophic coverage for larger farms.
The 2026 DMC program contains several important updates authorized in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including a production history update. All dairy operations that elect to enroll this year will establish a new production history. Existing operations that began marketing milk on or before January 1, 2023, will use the highest milk marketings from 2021, 2022 or 2023. New operations that started after that date will use their first year of monthly milk marketings, even if it is a partial year. The legislation also expanded Tier 1 coverage to 6 million pounds of production, up from 5 million, with any remaining production covered under Tier 2. Premium rates for both tiers remain unchanged. Additionally, dairy farmers now may elect to lock in coverage levels for six years (2026–2031) and receive a 25% discount on premium fees.
Click here to see more...