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Dairy Margin Coverage had last-minute rush to sign up

Wisconsin’s FSA Director says many dairy farmers waited until the last minute to sign up for the Dairy Margin Coverage Program. 

Sandy Chalmers tells Brownfield that it was predictable. “That’s the way those signups go across the country, not just here, because people know that the longer they wait, the better market data they will have to help them make a better decision on their coverage levels and so forth.”

Chalmers says a large percentage of Wisconsin dairies signed up for DMC. “We had about 33-hundred producers signed up, and a little more than half of our state milk production covered by DMC.” That’s about 64.5% of Wisconsin dairy farms signing up for Dairy Margin Coverage. Wisconsin currently has 5,111 licensed dairy farms.

Chalmers says the January margin also triggered DMC payments including nearly twelve million dollars in Wisconsin.

AUDIO: Wisconsin FSA Director Sandy Chalmers discusses the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, specialty crop assistance, and the last-minute rush for Dairy Margin Coverage signups with Brownfield’s Larry Lee.