The main US farm organisations have made a proposal to the USDA to reduce milk supply for six months. The proposal is to pay producers $3 per hundredweight on 90% of their production if they cut production by 10% from their March 2020 baseline. Remember, most have a flat production profile. The programme runs for six months – April through September. That’s the equivalent of circa 5c/l on the 90% of milk supplied. US farmers would have cows at different stages of lactation which could be dried off easier, unlike Ireland
The main US farm organisations have made a proposal to the USDA to reduce milk supply for six months. The proposal is to pay producers $3 per hundredweight on 90% of their production if they cut production by 10% from their March 2020 baseline. Remember, most have a flat production profile. The programme runs for six months – April through September. That’s the equivalent of circa 5c/l on the 90% of milk supplied.
US farmers would have cows at different stages of lactation which could be dried off easier, unlike Ireland
The USDA has run this kind of programme before. In the early 1980s, there was a “milk diversion programme” (MDP), when they paid farmers to voluntarily reduce milk production. It worked for the duration of the programme.
The thinking is that COVID-19 is a temporary problem and asking farmers to temporarily cut production might make for a successful programme. US farmers would have cows at different stages of lactation which could be dried off easier, unlike Ireland.
However, this initiative would be positive for Irish product seeking a market.
Many US local papers are reporting that some dairy farmers are being asked to dump milk
US dairy companies dependent on a specific market that may have closed due to COVID-19 restrictions or companies that simply don’t have enough processing capacity are coming under pressure in the US.
Many US local papers are reporting that some dairy farmers are being asked to dump milk for a short period due to decreased demand from the shutdown of schools and restaurants.
This week, the US’s largest co-operative Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has asked some large dairy farms to dump milk. Farmers are being compensated for their dumped product.
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Milk dumping starts in United States
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