If you haven't signed up for the new dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP-Dairy) yet, there's still time. The application deadline has been extended to Friday, December 19, 2014.
This is the second extension of the deadline, which was originally set for November 28 - the day after Thanksgiving. The adjusted deadline was to be last Friday, December 5, before U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the new mid-December due date.
A longer and later than usual harvest season is one reason for the extension, but one might also speculate that sign-up numbers are less than USDA expected or desired. That is not all that surprising, as 2014 has been an exceptional year with outstanding margins for the dairy industry. It's hard to take time to think about margin protection when dairying is going well, but that is exactly when we should.
Take a lesson from the old Aesop's Fable, "The Ant and the Grasshopper." On a lovely summer day, a grasshopper was chirping and singing and having a great time. Meanwhile, an ant passed by slowly, carrying a heavy cob of corn back to his nest. The grasshopper asked the ant to take a break from his work to have fun with him, but the ant replied that he was preparing for the cold winter months, and he recommended the grasshopper do the same. The grasshopper did not see a need at the time, since the summer provided abundant food supplies.
When winter came, however, the grasshopper was starving with nothing to eat. The ant, on the other hand, was eating food he had stored away. It was then that the grasshopper knew it was best to prepare for days of need.
Many farms could not withstand another year like 2009. With leading economists forecasting periods of $15 milk in 2015, this year's prosperity is likely coming to a quick end.
MPP-Dairy may not be for everyone, but it certainly deserves consideration. We encourage you to be the ant and think ahead to harder times. Take this extended deadline as an opportunity to review the facts, if you haven't already done so.
