U.S. dairy farms participating in the Margin Protection Program (MPP) can now update their production history when an eligible family member joins the operation.
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The voluntary program, established by the 2014 Farm Bill, protects participating dairy producers when the margin – the difference between the price of milk and feed costs – falls below levels of protection selected by the applicant.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) published a final rule which makes these changes effective on April 13, 2016.
Any dairy operation already enrolled in the Margin Protection Program that had an intergenerational transfer occur will have an opportunity to increase the dairy operations production history during the 2017 registration and annual coverage election period.
The next election period begins on July 1, 2016, and ends on Sept. 30, 2016. For intergenerational transfers occurring on or after July 1, 2016, notification must be made to the FSA within 60 days of purchasing the additional cows.
Each participating dairy operation is authorized one intergenerational transfer at any time of its choosing until 2018.
For $100 a year, dairy producers can receive basic catastrophic protection that covers 90 percent of milk production at a $4 margin coverage level. For additional premiums, operations can protect 25 to 90 percent of production history with margin coverage levels from $4.50 to $8, in 50 cent increments.
Annual enrollment in the program is required in order to receive margin protection.
The final rule also provides improved risk protection for dairy farmers that pay premiums to buy-up higher levels of coverage by clarifying that 90 percent of production is covered below the $4 level even if a lower percentage was selected above the $4 margin.
Earlier this year, FSA gave producers the opportunity to pay their premium through additional options including via their milk cooperative or handler.
This rule facilitates those options and also clarifies that the catastrophic level protection at $4 will always cover 90 percent of the production history, even if a producer selected a less than a 90 percent percentage for the buy-up coverage.
Assuming current participation, had the Margin Protection Program existed from 2009 to 2014, premiums and fees would have totaled $500 million while providing producers with $2.5 billion in financial assistance, nearly $1 billion more than provided by the old Milk Income Loss Contract program during the same period. ■
A trailing cold front in connection with a low pressure system currently moving east across the Great Lakes toward New England will bring a chance of rain into the eastern U.S. on this first day of November following an exceptionally dry October for this part of the country.