FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative applauds the introduction of the Dairy Farm Resiliency Act today to make changes to the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program. This bipartisan supported bill would require USDA to update the production history calculation in the program every five years, and to be based on the producer’s highest production year out of the last three years. If included in the 2023 Farm Bill, this provision would update the production history to that of the highest production year of 2020, 2021, and 2022. The bill also increases the Tier 1 threshold from five million pounds to six million pounds.
“The provisions in the Dairy Farm Resiliency Act are necessary for the DMC program to work efficiently and effectively for dairy producers in the Upper Midwest,” said Jeff Lyon, Farm First Dairy Cooperative General Manager. “Ensuring that the production history calculation is updated on a consistent basis and increasing the Tier 1 Threshold to more accurately reflect how the average herd size has grown since the 2018 Farm Bill will improve the DMC program and how it benefits dairy farmers.”
FarmFirst thanks and commends Representative Marc Molinaro (R-NY) for introducing this bill, along with Representatives Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) who are cosponsors of the bill and serve on the House Agriculture Committee.
