Michigan dairy farmers will less than 300 cows view price supports and the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program more important to their profitability than larger herds.
That’s a according to a recent survey of 226 Michigan dairy farmers, ranging in herd size from eight to 5,400 cows. The survey was conducted by Michigan State University. It was sent to 1,102 dairy farmers, with a response rate of 20.5%.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not import to 5 being very important, smaller farmers say dairy price supports rank about 3.25. Large farms rank price supports at 2.25. About the same rankings apply to the MILC program.
Small and large producers do agree that Federal Milk Marketing Orders, the Dairy Export Incentive Program and milk promotions programs are all important to profitability. On the 1 to 5 scale, all producers rank these programs at about 3.5.
More on the survey can be viewed here.
