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Senators ask for MILC extension

Thirteen U.S. Senators have sent a letter to the members of the Farm Bill Conference Committee asking them to extend the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program until a new dairy program is in place. The Senators note there is no safety net in place for dairy producers right now and even if a new farm bill is approved, it would be months before any new program is up-and-running.

MILC was extended in the emergency farm bill extension last January 1st but expired at the end of September. The Senate-passed Farm Bill extends the MILC program until the new one is implemented while the House version does not. In the letter, the Senators cite dairy economists who are forecasting lower milk prices next year which could be devastating to dairy producers if they have no safety net.

Signing the letter are Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Al Franken (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MN), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Robert Casey (D-PA).

The text of the letter follows:

As you prepare to reconcile the House and Senate farm bills with the House of Representatives, we write in strong support of the provision in the Senate bill that would extend the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program until a new dairy program is implemented.

Dairy farmers across the country are preparing to enroll in the new margin protection program proposed in both the Senate and House version of the farm bills. However, the development of this new program will take several months to complete. In the meantime, our producers need a safety net they can rely on. For this reason, we strongly urge you to extend the existing Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program until the new program is ready for nationwide implementation.

The dairy industry has been hit particularly hard by the delay in passing a five year farm bill. For two years in a row, farmers have headed into the fall without a safety net to protect against dramatic price swings. Dairy economists looking ahead to early next year are forecasting falling milk prices coupled with a decrease in exports. Congress needs to provide dairy producers with certainty and a reliable safety net as they head into this transitional period.

Both the House and Senate passed bills contain a gap between the enactment and implementation of dairy reform. The House bill asks farmers to wait for many months until the new program kicks in before they could receive retroactive coverage. However, this is a new program with payment rates that farmers are unfamiliar with and many farmers simply do not have the resources available to allow them to wait for months for retroactive coverage.

We support the approach included in the Senate bill, which makes MILC available to farmers during this interim period at the standard 45 percent payment rate. This will provide much-needed certainty for our dairy farmers and their families as they prepare for dairy reform. We urge you to extend the existing MILC program until the new program is fully implemented.