USDA has sent an interim final rule for the Dairy Donation Program (DDP) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.
USDA offered up general guidelines for the program in April based on provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 that created the DDP. The program will require that a donation and distribution plan must be submitted to and approved by USDA and the reimbursement will be at least equivalent to the minimum classified value of milk used to make the donated product on the date of manufacturing. The program will also require records related to donating and receiving products must be maintained and available for review and/or audit.
Eligibility for the program is open to dairy farmer cooperatives and processors who “account to” a Federal milk marketing order (FMMO) and donate dairy products to any private or public nonprofit food distribution entity.
The program will also allow for retroactive reimbursements back to December 27, 2020, when the legislation was signed into law. The rule at OMB will contain more details on that reimbursement rate.
The dairy industry has been awaiting the DDP effort, particularly in the wake of the Biden administration ending the popular Food Box program which included dairy products provided to recipients and fostered additional demand for U.S. dairy products.
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