Although U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has expressed disinterest in reopening the Dairy Margin Coverage program, a University of Wisconsin-Madison economist says the final decision is ultimately up to lawmakers. In an episode of Dairy Signal this week, hosted by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, Dr. Mark Stephenson said the proposal is not off the table yet.
"Secretary Perdue is not normally the person that gets to make that decision, that would be Congress," Dr. Stephenson explained. "So if Congress comes back with another round of stimulus funding and decides to re-open DMC enrollment, then that would happen."
Lawmakers and farm groups have been asking the USDA to consider reopening the program and make payments retroactive to January 1. But Perdue said last week that insurance programs are not meant to be implemented after people need it.
Stephenson also explained what he knew about the guidelines for USDA's farm relief package, which was also unveiled last week.
"From what I understand, dairy would get $2.9 billion in direct payments, based on milk price losses. The calculation would be based on 85 percent of the losses producers suffered from January 1 to April 15; with 30 percent for losses after April 15 and the next two quarters."
He said there would also be a $125,000 cap per farm with payments estimated around $1.60 per hundredweight. It has not been determined if losses would be based on historic production averages or total production from March, according to Stephenson.
Meanwhile, UW-Madison Assistant Professor of Dairy Science Dr. Heather White said farmers who are being asked to trim their milk production are facing management practices they have never seen before.
"This is the exact opposite of what we typically research. Our goal has not been to decrease milk but rather increase milk or improve feed efficiency," Dr. White said. "So this is challenging us to think about our research in reverse. How do we do things to decrease production while still protecting our ability to be nimble and responsive later?"
She advised producers to avoid strategies that will make increasing production again in the future difficult.
"This may give farmers the right excuse to cull cows that didn't meet your culling criteria in the past," she said. "For example, if she's had mastitis or ketosis problems before and you're finding it's taking more man power to keep her producing, or if she's previously been tested positive for Johne's disease, it may be a reason to consider shipping that animal."
Stephenson wrapped up the program saying he thinks consumers care about what's going on in farm country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think consumers want to hear this story," he said. "They are seeing these headlines about milk being dumped and it gets their attention. Some of them are even trying to come up with solutions. This is a good time to talk to folks about it."
PDPW's Dairy Signal continues on Thursday with presentations from Ag Economist Dan Basse and Professor Dr. Luiz Ferraretto of the University of Florida, who will talk about the latest market outlook and insights on cow-feeding strategies.
Source : USAgNet.com