USDA announced that the August milk margin did trigger the eighth consecutive payment for dairy producers who obtained Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) for 2023. That month, the income over feed margin was $6.46 per hundredweight with projected DMC payments totaling $120 million. So to date, dairy producers have received more than $1.2 billion in much needed economic support for 2023 and margin forecasts indicate the likelihood of more to come before the end of the calendar year.

DMC is a voluntary risk management program administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). It offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.??

DMC complements other assistance available to dairy producers, including the Milk Loss Program (MLP) and the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP).

MLP covers milk that was dumped or removed, without compensation, from the commercial milk market due to qualifying weather events and the consequences of those weather events that inhibited delivery or storage of milk during calendar years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

USDA recently announced a second round of payments for dairy producers through ODMAP, providing an additional $5 million to help dairy producers with marketing costs to mitigate market volatility, higher input and transportation costs and unstable feed supply and prices that have created unique hardships in the organic dairy industry. FSA has already paid out $15 million in the first round of payments for eligible producers, bringing total ODMAP payments to $20 million.???

To learn more about these FSA programs, contact your local?USDA Service Center.?