To bolster milk prices and help keep dairy farmers in business, the USDA should buy up to 90 million pounds of cheese and donate it to food banks, says the National Milk Producers Federation. The purchase would cost $100–$150 million but would boost income for U.S. dairy farmers by $380 million over a year by marginally reducing the dairy surplus, said the NMPF in a letter to the USDA.
“Dairy farmers here in the United States need assistance to endure this 18-month depression in milk prices,” said NMPF chief executive Dave Mulhern. It was the group’s latest appeal to the USDA for action to help dairy farmers. The USDA forecasts the all-milk price will average $16.35 per 100 pounds of milk this year, an improvement from a couple of months ago but far below 2014’s average of $23.97. Milk production is on the rise in Europe while imports are declining in China and Russia. As a result, dairy prices are under pressure worldwide.
The Margin Protection Program, an insurance-like dairy subsidy created by the 2014 farm law, needs to be strengthened, said the letter. “Due to limitations of the program approved by Congress, few dairy farmers have coverage at levels that will provide sufficient support this year,” said the farm group.
“In light of the ongoing crisis in global dairy markets, governments in major dairy-producing countries are providing important support to their dairy farmers,” said the letter, pointing to action by the EU.