Perdue spoke during a town-hall-style meeting last week at Davidian Brothers Farm in Northborough.
MPP-Dairy provides a payment when the margin — the difference between the all-milk price and average feed costs — falls below the coverage level the farmer has chosen.
The idea is to guard against low margins, not guarantee a profit.
Hatfield dairy farmer Darryl Williams talked of the need to improve the program.
“The first year, there was more than $70 million paid by dairy farmers into that program,” Williams said. “Then later there was a fee calculation thrown in so we didn’t get any money back despite the low milk prices that year. That’s one of the tools we utilize where improvements can be made.”
Williams spoke of several other tools in the Farm Bill that dairy farmers rely on, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which he said is valuable to dairy farmers because it provides financial and technical assistance for conservation practices.
Williams also talked about the dairy products in the National School Lunch Program.
“In the school lunch program, dairy is coming back, including butter and milk,” he said. “After all, it’s power-packed with nutrition. However, we’d love to see schools go back to full-fat milk. It’s very convoluted and difficult for schools to get full-fat milk back in.”
Earlier this year, Perdue began the process of restoring low-fat milk to school lunch and breakfast programs. It was eliminated from those programs in 2012.
Perdue said farmers should “speak up and speak up loudly” when it comes to ensuring regulations are common sense and workable for farmers.
He has traveled to many parts of the country to hold listening sessions with local farmers about such issues.
“This is an opportunity to get out across America,” Perdue said. “Coming out in these states and understanding the challenges that each area faces. Massachusetts does not have the same needs as somewhere like we were yesterday, in Decatur, Illinois.”
Perdue also talked about farm labor, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Food Safety Modernization Act and equine processing.
“All these discussions were focused around improving profitability and long-term viability of farms in the Northeast,” said Ed Davidian, president of Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation and owner of Davidian Brothers Farm. “We are looking for effective programs that will help our farms continue for generations in the next Farm Bill.”
Source: Lancaster Farming
Link: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/perdue-expects-major-correction-of-mpp-dairy-in-next-farm/article_e8490932-9cee-53ae-9cfd-f7917caff76e.html