165 small to mid-size dairy farms applied to the program during the trial period with 157 dairy farms reimbursed.

Delegate Tony Wilt describes the dairy bill as an insurance program that farmers can participate in to help protect them in the long run.

“They never know what they’re gonna be getting paid for the milk and, sometimes, because of outside forces that price when they get paid, it really dips low,” Delegate Wilt said.

Farmers have to adopt a nutrient management plan in order to qualify — which means handling animal waste better.

“That benefits, the farmer, too, believe it or not. That, long term, is it going to give them cleaner water, and so forth, and hopefully a better operation on the farm as well,” Delegate Wilt said.

The Dairy Margin Coverage Program is meant help farmers keep their heads high whenever profits are low.

“They can dive in this insurance plan to help make them somewhat whole in basically, the money they lost,” Delegate Wilt said.

Without the legislative push, this program to support dairy farmers would have been over in July.