U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces Open Enrollment for Improved Dairy Safety Net Tool

Farmers encouraged to contact local Farm Service Agency office for details

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced today that enrollment will open next week for the improved Dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP), which will provide more cost-effective protections for Wisconsin dairy farmers.

With changes secured by Senator Baldwin and authorized under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has set the enrollment period to run from April 9, 2018, to June 1, 2018, and has made coverage selected in the new enrollment period retroactive to January 1, 2018.

“Wisconsin’s dairy farmers are facing a very challenging year. I encourage dairy farmers to talk with their local Farm Service Agency office and take another look at the Dairy Margin Protection Program, now that substantial changes have been made,” said Senator Baldwin. “With lower premium rates for better coverage available, the MPP updates offer a tool for farmers as they manage in this difficult dairy economy.”

Additional information from the USDA and FSA about MPP enrollment is below:

• Dairy operations must make a new coverage election for 2018, even if you enrolled during the previous 2018 signup period.
• Coverage selections made for 2018 will be retroactive to January 1, 2018. All dairy operations desiring coverage must sign up during the enrollment period and submit an appropriate form (CCC-782) and dairy operations may still “opt out” by not submitting a form. All outstanding balances for 2017 and prior years must be paid in full before 2018 coverage is approved.
• Dairy producers can participate in FSA’s MPP or the Risk Management Agency’s Livestock Gross Margin Insurance Plan for Dairy Cattle (LGM-Dairy), but not both.
• During the 2018 enrollment period, only producers with an active LGM-Dairy policy who have targeted marketings insured in 2018 months will be allowed to enroll in MPP by June 1, 2018; however, their coverage will start only after active target marketings conclude under LGM-Dairy.
• USDA has a web tool to help producers determine the level of coverage under the MPP that will provide them with the strongest safety net under a variety of conditions. The online resource, available at fsa.usda.gov/mpptool, allows dairy farmers to quickly and easily combine unique operation data and other key variables to calculate their coverage needs based on price projections.
• Access additional information by visiting usda.gov/dairy or contacting your local USDA service center.

In the face of difficult dairy market conditions in Wisconsin and across the country, Senator Baldwin sent a letter to Senate leadership in January urging them to protect the economic security of the nation’s dairy farmers and update and expand the MPP in advance of the Farm Bill to provide better risk management tools for family farmers. In February, Senator Baldwin announced that she secured more than $1 billion for MPP that includes significant improvements to dairy programs that will give Wisconsin dairy farmers much-needed, immediate relief.

An online version of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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