The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is set to disburse an additional $5 million in payments to support organic dairy producers. The Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) is intended to aid dairy producers in navigating market fluctuations, increased expenses, and unpredictable feed supply and pricing challenges. Having already distributed an initial $15 million in the first round, the total ODMAP payments now stand at $20 million. The application window for ODMAP, which supports certified organic dairy operations producing milk from cows, goats, and sheep, was open from May 24 to August 11.
The program offers financial aid for projected marketing costs in 2023, calculated as a cost share of marketing expenses on the pounds of organic milk marketed in the 2022 calendar year. The first payment for ODMAP applicants was 75 percent of the calculated assistance. Recognizing ongoing needs, the USDA has approved a second round to cover the remaining 25 percent. This payment is automatic, and no additional action will be required from participating producers. ODMAP supplements other assistance options for dairy producers, including Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) and Supplemental DMC, which have already delivered over $1 billion in benefits for the 2023 program year.
“This program is critical to keeping small, organic dairies sustainable as they continue to weather a combination of challenges outside of their control,” Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said in a press release. “In total, the Farm Service Agency is providing $20 million to give organic dairy producers additional economic support to stay in operation until markets return to more favorable conditions.”
FSA has also introduced the Milk Loss Program for eligible dairy operations. This initiative addresses milk discarded or uncompensated removals from the commercial milk market due to qualifying weather events and related consequences such as power outages, impassable roads, and infrastructure losses. The program applies to the calendar years 2020, 2021, and 2022. Additional information about this program can be found on the FSA Dairy Programs webpage.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West