Wisconsin Ag Connection - Brancel: Producers 'Do' Need to Re-Sign MILC Agreements

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Brancel: Producers 'Do' Need to Re-Sign MILC Agreements
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 11/14/2008

The director of the Wisconsin Farm Service Agency says if state dairy producers want to continue their enrollment in the federal Milk Income Loss Contract Program under the new farm bill, they need to start the process all over again. Responding to an article published on Wisconsin Ag Connection earlier this week, Ben Brancel says producers shouldn't assume that the FSA will take care of the re-enrollment for them.

"Since this is a new farm bill, all of the programs within it will be considered 'new agreements,'" Brancel said. "The revised MILC program is essentially a new program, so producers will need to sign new contracts."

However, they cannot do that yet because USDA has not published the dates for the new sign-up period.

"That window of time is coming soon and we'll be announcing those new sign-up opportunities (hopefully) in early December," said State FSA MILC Specialist Greg Biba.

Earlier this week, we quoted a central Wisconsin extension agent as saying "farmers that were previously enrolled in the MILC program shouldn't need to do anything different because the Farm Service Agency should take care of the changes." But Biba said that is not the case.

Meanwhile, state producers "may" soon be eligible for payments for the first time since February 2007.

"Since the newly revised MILC program uses feed costs in its formula, farmers could get subsidy payments for their October milk," Biba noted. "But we won't know this for sure until late November when the October feed payment rates are announced."

Brancel and Biba say there are a lot of other details that have yet to be determined. But more information will be available by the time the USDA opens up the sign-up period.

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