SHAHEEN URGES GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR NH DAIRY FARMERS

(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen yesterday joined 21 of her colleagues in urging the U.S. Farm Service Agency to provide greater flexibility to dairy farmers eligible for assistance under the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program.  The MILC program, which provides assistance to farmers when the price of milk falls below the cost of production, allows farmers to select when during the fiscal year they will start receiving assistance.  Because of a misunderstanding about how to select the MILC starting month, however, it appears that some producers may be unable to take full advantage of the program next year. 

"New Hampshire has a long and proud tradition of family dairy farms and I am committed to supporting them during this difficult economy," said Shaheen.  "The MILC program is as an essential safety net for New Hampshire dairy farmers, especially in the face of stagnant prices and rising feed costs, and I believe farmers should have every opportunity to fully benefit from this important program."

"Dairy farm families are still struggling to pay the bills that mounted up over the last two years," said NH Agriculture Commissioner Lorraine Merrill.  "We would hate to see some not be able to participate fully in the MILC program because of this technicality."

The MILC program has a cap on the amount of assistance each producer can receive.  Because of how the cap is calculated, many larger dairy farms "cap out" during any fiscal year when MILC payments are being made, and therefore elect to start receiving assistance when it would be most beneficial instead of at the start of the fiscal year. 

Because of market patterns, a significant number of producers designated October 2009 as their start month for fiscal year 2010.  Many of these same producers would like to designate a later month as their start month for fiscal year 2011.  Despite the fact that they have not yet received any fiscal year 2011 payments, these producers are being told that they can no longer change their fiscal year 2011 start month.  The letter requests that program administrators allow producers to change their default start date for fiscal year 2011 as long as they have not yet received any MILC payment for that year. 

The full text of the letter to the U.S. Farm Service Agency is below.

November 15, 2010

Brandon Willis
Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs
Farm Service Agency
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Willis:

As you know, the Milk Income Loss Contract ("MILC") program serves as an essential safety net for dairy producers across the country, especially in the face of stagnant prices and rising feed costs.  Because of a misunderstanding about how to select the MILC starting month, however, it appears that many producers may be unable to take full advantage of the program next year. 

Because of market patterns, a significant number of producers designated October 2009 as their start month for fiscal year 2010.  Many of these same producers would like to designate a later month as their start month for fiscal year 2011.  Despite the fact that they have not yet received any fiscal year 2011 payments, these producers are being told by their local FSA offices that they can no longer change their fiscal year 2011 start month.  Given the fact that no fiscal year 2011 payments have gone out, this seems an unnecessarily narrow reading of the regulation.

We write to request that you extend the window for farmers to designate their start date for fiscal year 2011 under your authority to "waive or modify program requirements where failure to meet such requirements does not adversely affect the operation of the [MILC] program."  7 C.F.R. § 1430.201(e).  Specifically, we request that you allow producers to change their default start date for fiscal year 2011 as long as they have not yet received an MILC payment for that year. 

Sincerely,

U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD); U.S. Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Bill Shuster (R-PA), Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY), Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), Chris Lee (R-NY), Michael Arcuri (D-NY), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Tim Holden (D-PA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Thomas J. Rooney (R-FL), and William Owens (D-NY)