The 2014 Farm Bill provides the most comprehensive reform to the U.S. federal dairy farm safety net seen in decades. In place of milk price and revenue support programs the new Farm Bill creates a new Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers (MPP). MPP is a voluntary program which places an emphasis on protecting income over feed cost margins. MPP protects against severe downturns in the milk price, rising livestock feed prices, or a combination of both.

Dairy farm families now have a voluntary safety net program that helps them through tough times and keeps pace with the challenges facing the U.S. dairy industry. MPP is a flexible program that allows a dairy operator to self-select coverage options to protect the farm against declines in national average production margins. Different coverage options reflect a producer’s ability to protect different margin levels (from $4 to $8 per hundredweight) and different coverage percentages (from 25% to 90%). MPP is administered by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Illinois as lead for the National Coalition for Producer Education has partnered with the National Program on Dairy Markets and Policy to develop a web-based decision tool for MPP dairy. At this meeting, Dr. John Newton will lead discussions on the new MPP program, explain how it may help dairy operators manage financial risk, review key sign-up and enrollment dates, and will engage participants in hands on activities using the new USDA sponsored MPP decision tool.