MILC Deadline & Passing A Farm Bill

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The USDA Farm Service Agency would like to remind producers that the deadline to submit production evidence for the Milk Income Loss Contract program for eligible months is November 1. The program financially compensates dairy producers when domestic milk prices fall below a specified level that takes into consideration feed costs. FSA says it is very important for dairy producers who participated in the MILC program to get all their production evidence into FSA by the deadline. Statutory authority for the MILC program expired September 30.  New legislation must be enacted before the MILC program, or its replacement, can provide assistance.

Ag Information Network's KayDee Gilkey recently spoke with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack about the need to pass a new Farm Bill by year's end.

VILSACK: There are just so many benefits that will come from a comprehensive bill. The benefits are obvious to farmers and producers in terms of a strong safety net, but the benefits to job growth and rural America may not be as obvious, but there are job promotion programs in this bill, there is a trade promotion effort that will allow us to continue extending record trade activity, which helps to stabilize incomes and create jobs, there's a strong conservation title that will create an easier vehicle and easier avenue for folks to take advantage of conservation for the benefit of our soil and water. Our research universities will benefit from this bill in terms of innovation and new ideas coming out of our land grant universities. At the end of the day what's really necessary for producers around the country is the certainty of having a farm program. We want to be able to help our producers when they need help the most and right now it's a little frustrating here at USDA that we can't help livestock producers who are being hurt, we can't help folks who have been damaged significantly by drought, because we don't have the tools. We need a farm bill and we need it now.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.