USDA Can't Speed Dairy Margin Coverage Program

Implementation of the new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program really cannot be pushed any faster than USDA already has done. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue told the House Appropriations Ag subcommittee that it would be impossible to move up the signup date for the Dairy Margin Coverage program, now set for June 17. But he said the program should be a “no-brainer” for farms with fewer than 250 to 300 cows. He said implementation of the dairy program has been slowed by a requirement that USDA reimburse farmers for fees they paid under the old Margin Protection Program, but that many of the records needed to make the reimbursements were kept on paper.