MILC Supplements Turning Sour?
Farmer: Outdated Program Won’t Last Much Longer
Posted: February 8, 2013
HARRISONBURG — Starting this week, local dairy farmers will receive payments from a federal program that helps supplement producers’ income when milk falls below a certain price. But that program isn’t likely to last long, according to one Rockingham County dairyman.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced updates to the Milk Income Loss Contract program last week. The agency will issue payments to dairy farmers who were enrolled in the program as of last September.
The farm bill extension that Congress pushed through on Jan. 1 continues the MILC program through Sept. 30.
All dairy producers’ MILC contracts are automatically extended to that date; farmers do not need to re-enroll in the program.
Payments are triggered when the milk price falls below $16.94 per hundredweight, which is 100 pounds of milk, after taking into consideration feed costs.
The program triggered payments of 59 cents per hundredweight last September and about 2 cents per hundredweight in October. Since then, no payments have been generated due to relatively high milk prices, according to McGaheysville dairyman Gerald Heatwole.
To receive the October 2012 payment, dairy producers must complete a new Average Adjusted Gross Income form for 2013. To obtain the form, producers can visit the Harrisonburg USDA Service Center at 1934 Deyerle Ave., or go online at www.fsa.usda.gov/ccc933.
This may be one of the last MILC payouts for local dairy farmers.
“No one really favors continuing the MILC [program],” Heatwole said. “Most everyone in the dairy industry says … the program’s obsolete. We need to find something new.”
Many congressmen have assured ag groups that they’ll try to vote on a new farm bill by April or May that would not include the same program, Heatwole said.
“If they do, we’ll no longer have MILC,” he said.
The program is antiquated because its model is based on an out-of-date milk price. He likened that price to a $5 minimum wage.
Producers can only receive MILC assistance on the first 2.9 million pounds of milk they produce each year. Most local dairy producers stay well under that cap, Heatwole says.
“The average farmer here in Rockingham County is shipping about 2.2 million pounds of milk annually,” he said.
For more information on program changes, call the Farm Service Agency at 433-9126, or visit www.fsa.usda.gov.
Contact Candace Sipos at 574-6275 or csipos@dnronline.com
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced updates to the Milk Income Loss Contract program last week. The agency will issue payments to dairy farmers who were enrolled in the program as of last September.
The farm bill extension that Congress pushed through on Jan. 1 continues the MILC program through Sept. 30.
All dairy producers’ MILC contracts are automatically extended to that date; farmers do not need to re-enroll in the program.
Payments are triggered when the milk price falls below $16.94 per hundredweight, which is 100 pounds of milk, after taking into consideration feed costs.
The program triggered payments of 59 cents per hundredweight last September and about 2 cents per hundredweight in October. Since then, no payments have been generated due to relatively high milk prices, according to McGaheysville dairyman Gerald Heatwole.
To receive the October 2012 payment, dairy producers must complete a new Average Adjusted Gross Income form for 2013. To obtain the form, producers can visit the Harrisonburg USDA Service Center at 1934 Deyerle Ave., or go online at www.fsa.usda.gov/ccc933.
This may be one of the last MILC payouts for local dairy farmers.
“No one really favors continuing the MILC [program],” Heatwole said. “Most everyone in the dairy industry says … the program’s obsolete. We need to find something new.”
Many congressmen have assured ag groups that they’ll try to vote on a new farm bill by April or May that would not include the same program, Heatwole said.
“If they do, we’ll no longer have MILC,” he said.
The program is antiquated because its model is based on an out-of-date milk price. He likened that price to a $5 minimum wage.
Producers can only receive MILC assistance on the first 2.9 million pounds of milk they produce each year. Most local dairy producers stay well under that cap, Heatwole says.
“The average farmer here in Rockingham County is shipping about 2.2 million pounds of milk annually,” he said.
For more information on program changes, call the Farm Service Agency at 433-9126, or visit www.fsa.usda.gov.
Contact Candace Sipos at 574-6275 or csipos@dnronline.com