USDA officials say more than half of the nation’s dairy farms have signed up for the second year of the Margin Protection Program. The program pays farmers when the margin or the difference between the price of milk and feed costs falls below a coverage level selected by the farmer. Minnesota Milk Producers Association President Pat Lunemann says however, the program needs tweaking to provide real help to dairy producers.
He says many dairy producers are struggling now and even those who are insured at the highest MPP level are only seeing minimal relief.
Lunemann says one of the major problems is that producers are being hit by rising costs other than feed.
The majority of dairy farmers signed up for the $4 dollar coverage level, which requires a flat $100 dollar fee. Only about 23-percent of dairy farmers opted for coverage above that basic level.
