Times have been tough in the American dairy industry. Overproduction has led to a lot of supply, which has pushed down beyond the break-even point. There have been some dairy support programs, including the most recent Margin Protection Program. However, the program is flawed, with farmers and farm-state legislators calling for changes. Marin Bozic, Assistant Professor with the University of Minnesota, says there is a new dairy support program in the works.
The provisional name of the program they are working is the Dairy Revenue Protection Program
He says recent dairy support programs were one-size-fits-all, which doesn’t work for everyone.
The goal is to give producers another tool in their risk-management tool box. It’s designed to be complementary to the other tools that are available for dairy producer, as well as protect the industry from catastrophic milk price drops. They’re waiting for approval from the USDA Risk Management Agency.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.