The recently-passed federal budget contains a major revamp of the Dairy Margin Protection Program, a controversial insurance program for dairy farmers. The program will now cover farmers at a higher rate, and premiums will be reduced. But Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, is still pushing, through new legislation, for farmers to get the money back that they previously invested in the DMPP.
In its first iteration—approved by the 2014 Farm Bill—the DMPP was considered by many farmers to be a disaster. In 2015, dairy farmers paid over $73 million in premiums, but the Department of Agriculture distributed just $700,000 of assistance to farmers. The rest of the funds were returned to the U.S. Treasury. Meanwhile, milk prices plummeted, and dairy farms shuttered across the country.
That year, Sen. Gillibrand called on Congress, without success, to take action to return the DMPP funds to farmers. On Feb. 8, she introduced new legislation that would formally return the excess DMPP premiums to farmers.
Under the new budget, fees associated with the DMPP are waived for veteran, minority, and women farmers. Small- and medium-size farms will also receive “catastrophic” coverage for no cost. The DMPP is supported by the National Milk Producers Federation, a national dairy trade association. NMPF represents the interests of the largest cooperatives and dairy processors in the country.