FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative Asks USDA Officials to Increase Mitigation Payments to Farmers
Monday, November 12th, 2018 -- 8:54 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -The Madison-based FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative is making a plea to top USDA officials, asking them increase the mitigation payments to U.S. dairy farmers to accurately reflect the cost of the retaliatory tariffs placed on American dairy products.In a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, the company requested that any additional payments be calculated based on a formula that more closely represents the financial harm that has been placed on dairy farmers. "We appreciate your effort to implement a trade mitigation package to support dairy farmers recognizing the harmful effects these retaliatory tariffs have on farmers," said FarmFirst Board President John Rettler in the letter. "However, that mitigation package calculates only $127 million in payments to dairy farmers, or $0.12/cwt on one-half of annual production." The letter further stated that USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates puts the estimated loss to dairy farmers at around $1.5 billion.
"Your dedication to improve market access for America's farmers is consistent with our desire to derive farm income from the domestic and global marketplace," the letter said. "Dairy farmers have endured exceptionally low milk prices over the last several years. Specifically, 18 percent lower from 2015 to 2017 compared to the average price farmers received from 2011 to 2014. Farmers were managing through this low point and believed the markets would come around." Rettler says the opportunity for dairy farmers to recover from these low prices was spoiled earlier this spring when the dairy markets reacted after these retaliatory tariffs were imposed.
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