USDA has announced that the MILC program has been extended for another month to give the program a better chance of being included in the next Farm Bill.
The key safety net program for American dairy producers will now have a better chance of being included in the next farm bill. On Friday, USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation has announced the extension of the Milk Income Loss Contract program at a payment rate calculation of 34-percent for the month of September 2007. The agency published a final rule in the Federal Register announcing the change.
Back in May, President Bush signed a war and hurricane appropriations bill which included the MILC payment extension clause. Under previous legislation, the MILC payment period and 34-percent rate expired at the end of August 2007.
MILC is a countercyclical program that serves as a safety net to small and mid-size dairy farmers when milk prices plummet. The program has provided over $517 million to Wisconsin dairy farmers since its inception in 2002.
As part of the current Farm Bill, MILC was originally funded through 2005. But congressional leaders from key dairy states were able to reauthorized its funding for another two years. Meanwhile, the House version of the 2007 farm bill included another term for the Milk Income Loss Contract program. The Senate is expected to hammer out its own version in the coming weeks.