Wisconsin Ag Connection - Nearly 75% of Wisconsin Farms Enrolled in DMC Program

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Nearly 75% of Wisconsin Farms Enrolled in DMC Program
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 08/20/2019

About 17,000 dairy operations across the United States have signed up for the Dairy Margin Coverage program since sign-up opened in June, with Wisconsin leading the nation in the total number of enrollees. On Monday, the USDA announced that 4,832 of Wisconsin's 6,719 dairy operations opted into the program, which replaces the former Margin Protection Program.

"We're encouraged by the number of dairy producers who have signed up for this new program, but we are hopeful that we will get more folks in the door," said USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey. "At this point in the signup process, we are well ahead of the number of producers covered at this time last year under the previous safety net program, with more producers enrolling every day. As we move into the homestretch, we expect more producers across the country to get coverage through DMC and our team at FSA is really going above and beyond to make sure we get the word out there, the returns this year to-date should speak for themselves."

The DMC program pays dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price falls below a dollar amount selected by the producer. It provides catastrophic coverage at no cost, other than an annual $100 fee that may be waived, and offers higher buy-up coverage.

Northey says more than 60 percent of U.S. dairies have enrolled in the program, so far. Other leading states include Minnesota with 1,865, New York with 1,779, Pennsylvania with 1,511, and Michigan had 702 signups.

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