Chairwoman Stabenow: New Farm Bill Dairy Program Coming Next Week to Help Farmers Manage Risk, Keep Prices Stable for Consumers

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today said a new dairy risk management program, included in the 2014 Farm Bill  and starting up next week, will give farmers the certainty and tools they need to continue  a reliable supply of milk products at the grocery store for consumers. Enrollment for the new dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP) will begin Sept. 2 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and offers participating farmers assistance if milk prices fall below profitable margins due to circumstances beyond their control. The MPP was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, which was signed into law in February.

“We cannot afford to have our dairy farmers go bankrupt when there are sudden market swings, which is why we put together this new program,” Stabenow said. “Families need a reliable supply of dairy products at the grocery store, and that means we need farmers who can keep producing some of the very best dairy products in the world.”

In conjunction with the rollout of the dairy program, a new, innovative web tool will be launched to help dairy producers enroll and make decisions based on their own unique needs and operations. The web tool, available at www.fsa.usda.gov/mpptool, provides a series of interactive features allowing producers to review historical data as well as future projections to make decisions that make the most sense for them.