Wisconsin Congressman Demanding to Know What U.S. Ag Department is Going to Do to Support Farmers
Wednesday, April 15th, 2020 -- 10:13 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -A western Wisconsin congressman is getting impatient with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its response to helping the nation's struggling dairy producers.In a strongly worded letter to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, Rep. Ron Kind said he's demanding to know what the agency is doing to support dairy farmers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter pressed Secretary Perdue to explain why he has not reopened the Dairy Margin Coverage program or made a move to buy surplus dairy products for the nation's feeding programs. The La Crosse Democrat also noted that USDA needs to act immediately or many dairy farms in Wisconsin will not survive the financial strain that social distancing is doing to the economy.
Throughout the past several weeks, many state and federal lawmakers and farm organizations have sent requests for the USDA to reopen the DMC. The Dairy Margin Coverage program offers reasonably priced protection to dairy farmers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed cost falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the farmer. Producers have earned more than $300 million from the 2019 program.
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