Dairy
NEW! National Dairy
Program: Under the National Dairy Program, dairy
farmers across the country will receive monthly payments B when fluid milk prices fall B nearly identical to what
T Like the
Compact, whenever the federal minimum price for fluid milk in
T
Like the Compact, payments
will be made on a monthly basis and will fluctuate with milk prices;
no payments will be made when
the fluid milk price in
T Producers
should begin receiving payments under this new national dairy program early this
fall. USDA is required to begin signing up farmers to participate in the program
not later than 60 days after the new farm bill is signed into law. As under the Compact, all producers will
receive payments on a monthly basis: USDA is required to pay producers not later
than 60 days after the end of each month for which a payment is made.
T A
significant feature of the new national dairy program is that it will be
retroactive, covering market losses due to low prices since
T Whereas the
Compact made payments to producers based on the amount of milk marketed in the
six-state Compact region, the national dairy program will make payments based on
milk marketed in any of the 50 states.
However, each producer will be able to receive payments on no more than
2.4 million pounds of production per year.
Only milk marketed during a month in which a payment is made will count
toward that total.
T In a new
provision added by the House of Representatives negotiators at the final
conference meeting, the 2.4 million-pound cap will apply to each dairy
Aoperation@ as that term is defined
under the Dairy Market Loss Assistance Program guidelines. Each typical farm represents at least
one Aoperation@ and could represent two or
more operations. (Note that USDA
Notice LD-505 defines dairy Aoperation@ as Aany person or group of
persons who as a single unit produce and market milk commercially produced from
cows and whose production and facilities are located in the
T The
bill also re-authorizes the milk price support program under which the
government purchases powdered milk, cheese and butter offered to it at the
equivalent of $9.90 per hundredweight, re-authorizes the Dairy Export Incentives
Program (DEIP), and requires importers to pay the dairy research and promotion
program assessment, and authorizes a new Johnes
disease research initiative.