Madison, Wis. [October 17, 2022] – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that enrollment for the 2023 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program is now open. FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative encourages all dairy farmers to participate in this important safety net program that continues to provide for dairy farmers across the U.S. when margins become tight.
“The DMC program has been a valuable part of dairy producers’ risk management program, providing incredibly affordable coverage over the past several years for small- to mid-sized dairy farms,” says John Rettler, dairy farmer from Neosho, Wis., and President of FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative. “Dairy markets will always be unpredictable, no matter what is being forecasted for milk prices. To minimize volatility, dairy farmers should enroll in the program regardless of the milk price outlook.”
As a voluntary risk management program, producers select at what level of coverage they would like to receive through the program. DMC offers basic price protection to producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.
“This year is a great example of why it’s important to enroll every year. Market forecasts predicted high milk prices throughout all of 2022, yet at the end of the third quarter, the program is sending payments for August’s milk price,” says Rettler. “Payments for August alone for coverage at the $8.50 level or higher initiated a payment, resulting in more than $47.9 million to 17,000 dairy operations. The program continues to perform as it was intended – to provide support when margins become tight.”
FarmFirst has been a strong, long-time advocate for the DMC program since its inception and continues to advocate for meaningful changes to the program. In recent years, FarmFirst championed for modifications to the program formula and its payment structure, as well as updates to be made to producers’ production history, which was achieved through the Supplement DMC program.
Enrollment for the 2023 DMC program begins today and runs through December 7, 2022. FarmFirst encourages all dairy producers to make plans for enrollment with their local FSA office ahead of December 7.
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, established in 2013 and based in Madison, Wis., represents farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana by providing legislative and regulatory advocacy, dairy marketing services, disaster protection, laboratory testing opportunities and industry promotion. Learn more about FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative by visiting: www.FarmFirstDairyCooperative.com.
