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As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to support dairy farmers and rural communities, today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program and expanded the program to allow dairy producers to better protect their operations by enrolling supplemental production. This enrollment period enables producers to get coverage through this important safety-net program for another year as well as get additional assistance through the new Supplemental DMC. See News Release for more information.
DMC continues to offer 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.
USDA Extends the Deadline to Obtain 2022 DMC Coverage
2022 DMC Enrollment Announced - Dec. 13, 2021 to March 25, 2022; Supplemental DMC (SDMC) - Dec. 13, 2021 to March 25, 2022. SDMC enrollment must occur before 2022 DMC enrollment.
Decision Tool
The DMC decision tool has been enhanced and was developed in partnership with representatives from the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin to help producers determine the level of coverage under a variety of conditions that will provide them with the strongest financial safety net.
Enrollment Reports
Following the close of the 2022 enrollment period, DMC Enrollment, Production and Payment reports will be posted weekly on Monday at 2:00 PM eastern.
The 2018 Farm Bill authorized the new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, which is a voluntary risk management program for dairy producers. DMC replaces the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy).
Program at a Glance
The program provides:
Benefits
At a milk margin minus feed costs of $9.50 or less, DMC payments are possible depending on the level of coverage chosen by the dairy producer.
For the 2021 DMC program year, Payments triggered in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November.
For the 2020 DMC program year, payments triggered for March, April, May, September and December.
For the 2019 DMC program year, payments triggered in January, February, March, April, May, June and July.
Who is Eligible?
To be eligible for DMC, a dairy operation must:
Dairy operations may consist of one or more dairy producers who are in the business of commercially producing and marketing milk as a single unit.
Dairy producers who are members of the dairy operation must share in the risk of producing milk and make contributions to the dairy operation that are at least commensurate with their share of the proceeds of the operation.
Dairy operations must be in compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions. For more information, visit fsa.usda.gov/compliance. Adjusted gross income provisions do not apply to DMC.
Producers may have more than one dairy operation, but they must be separate and distinct in order to have a separate contract.
How it Works
To participate in DMC, dairy producers:
Producers have the choice to lock in coverage levels until 2023 and receive a 25 percent discount on their DMC premiums.
FSA and representatives from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin have partnered on the development of a DMC decision support tool that helps producers determine the level of coverage under a variety of conditions that will provide them with the strongest financial safety net. It allows farmers to simplify their coverage level selection by combining operation data and other key variables to calculate coverage needs based on price projections Visit the tool.
How to Apply
FSA opened enrollment for both DMC (for calendar year 2022) and for Supplemental DMC on Dec. 13. The deadline to enroll is March 25, 2022. Producers must complete Supplemental DMC enrollment before 2022 DMC enrollment.
Enrollment for the 2021 calendar year opened on Oct. 13, 2020 and closed on Dec. 11, 2020.
Enrollment for the 2020 calendar year coverage opened on Oct 7, 2019 and closed on Dec. 20, 2019.
Enrollment for calendar year 2019 DMC coverage opened on June 17, 2019 and closed on Sept. 27, 2019.
More Information
Dairy Margin Coverage
This DMC decision tool can be used to help you look at and think about what your opportunities are.
Note on Sequestration: DMC indemnity payments will be reduced by a certain percentage (5.7 percent for 2022; 5.7 percent for 2021; 5.9 percent for 2020; 6.2 percent for 2019) due to a sequester order required by Congress and issued pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. FSA will reduce DMC indemnity payments by the applicable sequestration percentage before distribution to participating operations.
Enrollment, Production, and Payments Updates
Enrollment, Production and Payment Updates – Weekly Report (Posted Mondays at 2 PM Eastern)
FSA opened enrollment for both DMC (for calendar year 2022) and for Supplemental DMC on Dec. 13. The deadline to enroll is March 25, 2022. Producers must complete Supplemental DMC enrollment before 2022 DMC enrollment.
Enrollment for the 2021 calendar year opened on Oct. 13, 2020 and closed on Dec. 11, 2020.
Enrollment for the 2020 calendar year coverage opened on Oct 7, 2019 and closed on Dec. 20, 2019.
Enrollment for calendar year 2019 DMC coverage opened on June 17, 2019 and closed on Sept. 27, 2019.
Review Previous reports
2022 Dairy Margin Coverage Weekly Reports | |
---|---|
2022 Dairy Margin Coverage Weekly Report for April 25, 2022 (PDF, 110KB) |
Prices
Read the details on how the prices below are used in the DMC calculation.
A change to use premium and supreme alfalfa hay will be used in the feed cost calculation for DMC
Month | Corn ($/bu) | Premium Alfalfa Hay ($/ton) | Soybean Meal ($/ton) | All Milk ($/cwt) | Final Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) | Milk Margin Above Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | 5.57 | 262.00 | 421.21 | 24.20 | 12.66 | 11.54 |
February | 6.10 | 266.00 | 480.96 | 24.70 | 13.72 | 10.98 |
March | 6.56 | 269.00 | 493.98 | 25.90 | 14.35 | 11.55 |
April | 7.08 | 271.00 | 476.70 | 27.10 | 14.81 | 12.29 |
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December |
Month | Corn ($/bu) | Premium Alfalfa Hay ($/ton) | Soybean Meal ($/ton) | All Milk ($/cwt) | Final Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) | Milk Margin Above Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | 4.24 | 206.00 | 439.24 | 17.50 | 10.60 | 6.90 |
February | 4.75 | 211.00 | 427.28 | 17.10 | 11.13 | 5.97 |
March | 4.89 | 210.00 | 410.02 | 17.40 | 11.14 | 6.26 |
April | 5.31 | 211.00 | 413.36 | 18.40 | 11.63 | 6.77 |
May | 5.91 | 226.00 | 421.03 | 19.20 | 12.53 | 6.67 |
June | 6.00 | 230.00 | 378.18 | 18.40 | 12.37 | 6.03 |
July | 6.12 | 232.00 | 365.23 | 17.90 | 12.43 | 5.47 |
August | 6.32 | 238.00 | 358.21 | 17.70 | 12.67 | 5.03 |
September | 5.45 | 244.00 | 343.55 | 18.40 | 11.71 | 6.69 |
October | 5.02 | 247.00 | 325.43 | 19.70 | 11.16 | 8.54 |
November | 5.27 | 246.00 | 358.73 | 20.80 | 11.66 | 9.14 |
December | 5.47 | 253.00 | 399.53 | 21.80 | 12.27 | 9.53 |
Month | Corn ($/bu) | Premium Alfalfa Hay ($/ton) | Soybean Meal ($/ton) | All Milk ($/cwt) | Final Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) | Milk Margin Above Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | 3.79 | 210.00 | 300.11 | 19.60 | 9.15 | 10.45 |
February | 3.78 | 210.00 | 295.28 | 18.90 | 9.10 | 9.80 |
March | 3.68 | 205.00 | 312.38 | 18.00 | 9.05 | 8.95 |
April | 3.29 | 209.00 | 295.39 | 14.40 | 8.56 | 5.84 |
May | 3.20 | 211.00 | 288.56 | 13.60 | 8.44 | 5.16 |
June | 3.16 | 201.00 | 288.66 | 18.10 | 8.27 | 9.83 |
July | 3.21 | 192.00 | 291.25 | 20.50 | 8.21 | 12.29 |
August | 3.12 | 192.00 | 290.18 | 18.80 | 8.11 | 10.69 |
September | 3.41 | 192.00 | 319.99 | 17.90 | 8.64 | 9.26 |
October | 3.61 | 194.00 | 367.11 | 20.20 | 9.23 | 10.97 |
November | 3.79 | 200.00 | 387.83 | 21.30 | 9.66 | 11.64 |
December | 3.97 | 203.00 | 396.68 | 18.50 | 9.96 | 8.54 |
Month | Corn ($/bu) | Blended Alfalfa Hay ($/ton) | Soybean Meal ($/ton) | All Milk ($/cwt) | Final Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) | Milk Margin Above Feed Costs for DMC($/cwt) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January | 3.56 | 201.00 | 314.92 | 16.60 | 8.89 | 7.71 |
February | 3.60 | 202.50 | 306.83 | 16.80 | 8.89 | 7.91 |
March | 3.61 | 198.50 | 306.38 | 17.50 | 8.84 | 8.66 |
April | 3.52 | 209.00 | 304.26 | 17.70 | 8.88 | 8.82 |
May | 3.63 | 213.00 | 297.52 | 18.00 | 9.00 | 9.00 |
June | 3.98 | 205.00 | 324.75 | 18.10 | 9.47 | 8.63 |
July | 4.16 | 196.00 | 310.77 | 18.70 | 9.43 | 9.27 |
August | 3.93 | 193.50 | 296.42 | 18.90 | 9.05 | 9.85 |
September | 3.80 | 192.50 | 295.57 | 19.30 | 8.89 | 10.41 |
October | 3.84 | 192.00 | 309.48 | 19.90 | 9.02 | 10.88 |
November | 3.68 | 191.00 | 303.13 | 21.00 | 8.79 | 12.21 |
December | 3.71 | 187.50 | 299.59 | 20.70 | 8.75 | 11.95 |