The Department of Agriculture Wednesday announced the sign-up period for the Dairy Margin Coverage. USDA also expanded the program to allow dairy producers to better protect their operations through supplemental production. This sign-up period, which runs from December 13, 2021, to February 18, 2022, enables producers to get coverage through the safety-net program for another year as well. The Supplemental DMC will provide $580 million to better help small- and mid-sized dairy operations that have increased production over the years but could not enroll the additional production. Now, they will be able to retroactively receive payments for that supplemental production. USDA is also changing the DMC feed cost formula to better reflect the actual cost dairy farmers pay for high-quality alfalfa hay. FSA will calculate payments using 100 percent premium alfalfa hay rather than 50 percent. The amended feed cost formula will make DMC payments more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses.
