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USDA opens 2027 Dairy Margin Coverage enrollment with expanded risk protection

A USDA official says recent changes to the Dairy Margin Coverage program could provide dairy producers with additional risk-management tools.

Richard Fordyce, the Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, says the updates are designed to strengthen protections for participating dairies.

“In 2026, we had a near record number of enrollments through the Dairy Farm Coverage program,” he says. “We now have the opportunity to update and make their production numbers more current to support their enrollment in DMC.”

He tells Brownfield coverage will more accurately reflect current market conditions.

“The Working Families Tax Cuts Act allowed the ability to protect the margin on tier one from 5 million to 6 million pounds,” he says. “A dairy that had production numbers from 2019, certainly those numbers look different today.”

DMC provides financial protection when the difference between the national all-milk price and average feed costs are below a producer-selected coverage level.

Producers can apply now through December 18th through their local FSA office.

AUDIO: Richard Fordyce