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Perdue says Margin Protection Program needs reassessment

The Secretary of Agriculture says the Dairy Margin Protection Program needs reassessment.  Sonny Perdue says, “It needs to be looked at, whether fixed or do we blow it up and start over or do we modify that in a way is really the question that Congress will be dealing with, and we at USDA are looking at it and trying to answer those questions now.”

Perdue tells Brownfield the MPP, which has been criticized by producers, might not be the right safety net program and they’re looking at all options.  “Is the Margin Protection Program the right way, or should we free up dairy farmers to go with the LGM program, possibly severing the milk as a commodity, an insurable commodity, from the livestock, which is capped now.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation has also proposed making milk an insurable commodity like crops, and Perdue says he is aware of their proposal.  “It’s something we’re looking at, certainly, and I know that Farm Bureau, National Farm Bureau may be promoting that and putting that out next spring.  We’re looking at how that would work, and that makes us look at overall how we would consult, advise, and counsel the Congress as they look at the 2018 farm bill.”

Perdue says he prefers safety net programs that allow farmers to farm for the market and not for the program.