Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) payments have been a small bright spot in dairy producers’ pocketbooks throughout 2023 as milk prices tumble and feed costs skyrocket. For the first half of the year, nearly $612 million in government payments have been issued, a vastly different picture compared to last year.
With milk prices more favorable in 2022, only $83.7 payments were issued with the average operation receiving $4,662 in total. In comparison, each operation enrolled in DMC has received an average of $36,137 during the first half of the year – and there are still six more potential payment months to go.
The Dairy State has received the most money thus far with more than $136 million in payments issued across the state’s 4,256 operations enrolled. Here’s how other major dairy-producing states faired:
State | Total Payment | Average Payment Per Operation | Enrolled Operations | Percent Enrolled
|
Wisconsin | $136,170,490 | $31,994.95 | 4,256 | 77.7% |
California | $60,641,654 | $64,996.41 | 933 | 76% |
New York | $58,009,287 | $32,173.76 | 1,803 | 71.8% |
Minnesota | $52,204,524 | $30,762.83 | 1,697 | 84.3% |
Pennsylvania | $50,434,268 | $28,786.68 | 1,752 | 69.6% |
Michigan | $27,655,307 | $43,551.66 | 635 | 65% |
Iowa | $23,037,934 | $37,521.07 | 614 | 77.2% |
Texas | $14,730,199 | $57,765.49 | 255 | 75.2% |
Vermont | $14,369,957 | $33,732.29 | 426 | 73.8% |
Idaho | $12,585,494 | $52,880.23 | 238 | 72.3% |
Statistics comparing 2023 to 2022 include:
Year | Operations Enrolled | Percent Enrolled | Payments | Average Amount Paid Per Operation |
First Six Months of 2023 | 16,929 | 73% | $611,939,041 | $36,147* |
2022 Total | 17,965 | 71.5% | $83,752,968 | $4,662* |
*This figure is an average that is dependent on production history as well as the selected coverage percentage and coverage level under the program.
