Sen. Kristen Gillibrand is imploring fellow New Yorker and President Donald Trump to only support Farm Bill legislation that aids dairy farmers by refunding Dairy Margin Protection Program payments.
Dairy farmers have a stronger safety net against low milk prices and high feed costs under the new federal farm bill, and more federal dollars will be spent to spur international trade of American agricultural products.
To date, nearly 10,000 operations have signed up for the new program, and FSA has begun paying approximately $100 million to producers for January through May.
The bill has provisions that will lift an underwriting limit on revenue insurance products for livestock and reduce the cost of the Margin Protection Program for dairy producers.
Round one of the farm bill battles could be settled as soon as this month if the Senate agrees on a fix for cotton and dairy in the $81 billion disaster aid bill already passed by the House.
A $1.5 million in competitive grant funding program has been made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that seeks to help the dairy industry.
Producers look at Washington to see if any farm labor or immigration laws will be passed to help the ag industry. Fair Oaks Farms in Northern Indiana, is moving towards robots for the very reason.
As the U.S. takes aim at Canada’s dairy sector as it attempts to renegotiate NAFTA, Canada's farmers and processors are forging ahead with some of their biggest expansions and investments in more than a decade.
