Service enrollment for the 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage program will begin Wednesday, Feb. 28 as stated in a news release from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). Dairy producers will have until April 29 to complete their enrollment in the voluntary dairy safety net program.
The news of enrollment comes after a period of waiting while FSA revised the regulations for the DMC program to allow eligible dairy operations the opportunity to make a one-time adjustment to their established production history. The adjustment will be the result of combining previously established supplemental production history with DMC production history for dairy operations that participated in DMC during a previous coverage year.
Producers are encouraged to enroll in the program, which was authorized through the end of 2024 with the 2018 Farm Bill extension.
“In reviewing 2023 margins and the more than 1.2 billion dollars in Dairy Margin Coverage payments issued to producers, Dairy Margin Coverage is proven to be a program to reduce risk for our dairy producers,” states FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux in the press release announcing the enrollment date.
National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Gregg Doud released the following statement.
“DMC itself is improved from the previous farm bill, thanks to the permanent incorporation of updated production histories in the program, and recent low producer margins underscore just how critical DMC is for dairy farms of all sizes,” he says.
Changes to 2024 DMC coverage and premium fees
The revised regulations of this risk management program extend coverage for 2024, retroactive to Jan. 1, and provides an adjustment to the production history of enrolled farms with less than 5 million pounds of production. The latter was established to provide a better reflection of a dairy operation’s current production.
For this year’s enrollment, those enrolled in the program from 2021 to 2023 will combine their supplemental production history with their established production history to create that one-time adjusted base production history. For those enrolled in 2023 under a multiyear, locked-in contract, lock-in eligibility continues until Dec. 31. These dairy operations are also eligible for the discounted premium rate for the 2024 coverage year. Dairy operations that have a lock-in contract and want to secure a lock-in contract or opt for an annual contract in 2024 must enroll during the enrollment period.
To evaluate the varying levels of DMC coverage for a specific dairy operation, producers can use the online dairy decision tool.
As of Feb. 23, the DMC decision tool forecasts a margin of $8.46 per hundredweight (cwt) for January, triggering payments for operations enrolled in the $8.50 per cwt and above coverage levels. The true margin will be announced Feb. 29 with payments dispersed as soon as March 4.
