Legislative lapse of the farm bill may have catastrophic consequences for dairy farmers, particularly in the Northeast. See an excerpt from an editorial published on October 7th in The New York Times below.
A Gloomy Season for Dairy Farmers
Published: October 7, 2012
Last week began without a farm bill, a legislative lapse of shameful proportions. Since 1949, the bill has always been renewed, but not this year. Even so, most of the 2012 crop is still covered by loans, insurance programs and commodity supports until the end of the year — with one important exception.
That exception is dairy farmers. When the farm bill expired, so did the Milk Income Loss Contract Program, which pays dairy farmers when milk prices, which are always volatile, fall below a set level. The payment is also adjusted to the price of feed, which has been high, thanks to record corn prices, and will be much higher after this year’s nationwide drought.
The program was designed to help small dairy operations, the kind that are prevalent in the Northeast. Typically, in New York, the program can provide a farmer with as much as 10 percent of his income. For all too many farmers — caught between diminishing demand for milk, historically low milk prices and historically high grain prices — that is the difference between bare survival and certain insolvency.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Image courtesy of FarmBillFacts.org.
A Gloomy Season for Dairy Farmers
Published: October 7, 2012
That exception is dairy farmers. When the farm bill expired, so did the Milk Income Loss Contract Program, which pays dairy farmers when milk prices, which are always volatile, fall below a set level. The payment is also adjusted to the price of feed, which has been high, thanks to record corn prices, and will be much higher after this year’s nationwide drought.
The program was designed to help small dairy operations, the kind that are prevalent in the Northeast. Typically, in New York, the program can provide a farmer with as much as 10 percent of his income. For all too many farmers — caught between diminishing demand for milk, historically low milk prices and historically high grain prices — that is the difference between bare survival and certain insolvency.
To read the rest of the article, click here.
Image courtesy of FarmBillFacts.org.
This is really a bad news that No farm bill has been renewed for dairy farmers, this will definitely affect the income of the farmers.
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