DMAP logo
The members of the Dairy Markets and Policy Team are pleased to announce that we have been asked by the Farm Services Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to partner with them in developing a web-based tool that will assist farmers in making their decisions about participating in the new Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers (MPP). In addition to developing the tool, we will organize various educational activities and materials to help producers understand how they can use the tool, identify the nuances of how the program works, and think about the milk price and margin risks they face. In designing and developing these materials we fully expect to work with and be a resource for the large network of extension educators and industry partners who are routinely in the business of working with dairy farmers and helping them gather the information to think about the management decisions they face every day.

The partnership with USDA will allow FSA and the University based team to most effectively coordinate our work and separate responsibilities for the ultimate benefit of dairy farmers. FSA and its regional offices are and will be the source of information and place to go for producers who want specific information about the program, signup procedures and other specific program information such as eligibility, payment processes and so on. USDA can answer questions about how MPP works and can show interested parties how to find the University based materials. There will be a link to all the Farm Bill decision tools on the USDA website. However, USDA staff will not provide advice to farmers on what decision they should make under MPP. Our decision support aids will not be designed to provide financial or risk management advice, rather we will try to give producers the tools to help them make the most informed MPP coverage decisions for their farm operation. We encourage producers to take full advantage of all the resources available to them. This is a brand new program, with new rules and new mechanisms.

We know quite a bit about the sequence of things that need to happen before MPP is formally launched, but we do not have a specific timetable. The Agricultural Act of 2014 instructs USDA to "establish and administer" the new program by 1 September. In the press release announcing the University awards, USDA states: "Sign-up for the newly established Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP) begins late this summer".

This is a strong indication of their goal but not a specific timetable for the various steps of releasing the rules, starting a sign-up period, and concluding enrollment. There remain many details for FSA to sort out in the implementation of the final and formal program. The framework for a MPP decision tool has been created, but we will need to know the final rules before a tool can be finalized and released publically. At this time, we cannot be more specific about when the tool will be available. USDA is already beginning to provide information about the program and will no doubt add to the information on their website as new information becomes available.

Although it is difficult to plan a specific schedule or even to know how much time will be available for various activities, we are developing a multipronged education plan. There will certainly be web-based educational materials and webinars, but we also want to do some hands-on workshops. As a group, our focus will be on several "trainthe-trainer" type workshops around the U.S. We anticipate that extension educators and industry groups will be developing local educational programs. Indeed, USDA is providing additional funding to State Cooperative Extension systems to support the overall producer education effort relative to new FSA-based programs. In our home states and in collaboration with partners elsewhere, we intend to be involved in more direct producer training as well. It will be our highest priority to provide producers with the tools and information that will help them to make the most informed decision possible.

In the coming weeks and months, please look to our website: www.dairymarkets.org for information on the tool and our educational activities. This website encompasses other aspects of our joint activities and contains publications, data tools, and a variety of information generally applicable to dairy markets and policy.

Marin Bozic
University of Minnesota

Andrew Novakovic
Cornell University

Brian Gould
University of Wisconsin

Mark Stephenson
University of Wisconsin

John Newton
University of Illinois

Cameron Thraen
The Ohio State University

Charles Nicholson
The Pennsylvania State University

Christopher Wolf
Michigan State University

Return to Industry Buzz.

5.29.2014