Some 482 Vermont dairy farms will receive an extra $23 million in subsidies through a federal program next year.
“The feed cost calculation has long been too low, failing to accurately account for the costs incurred by dairy farmers in Vermont and the Northeast in particular,” said U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who chairs the Appropriations Committee, in a press release. “This change will benefit farmers now and in the future at a time when input costs continue to increase at the farm level.
“I applaud Secretary (of Agriculture Tom) Vilsack for working quickly to improve the safety net and provide much-needed relief to producers in Vermont and across the country.”
The Dairy Margin Coverage program is a safety net for small dairy farms, farms that produce less than 5 million pounds of milk per year — generally, farms that have about 200 cows or less. About 73 percent of Vermont dairy farms enroll in the program, and Vermont farms receive an average of $47,500 from the program.
Among them is Liberty Hill Farm in Rochester, where Beth Kennett, her husband and her son milk 112 Holsteins. Kennett said the pandemic has caused milk prices to fall.
“There was a huge drop in milk price last year with all of the schools, restaurants and institutions closed and export closed,” Kennett said. “So the Dairy Margin Coverage program was extremely important.”
Leo Kennett, 3, watches Noe Garcia Cruz fill a feed cart at Liberty Hill Farm in Rochester on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
Kennett and her family grow their own hay, but machinery, fuel and labor factor into how much it costs to make that hay.
“We have not been able to cover our costs of production for several years,” Kennett said. “The changes to this program will certainly help us work towards covering the rising input costs.”
Because of a change in how cattle feed costs are calculated, Vermont farmers will also be eligible for an additional $3.1 million in retroactive payments for 2020 and 2021.
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