Dairy Farm Fuel Survey building case for fair share in USDA’s relief program

A dairy policy expert says dairy farmers should be fairly represented in USDA’s Harvest Fuel Relief Program.

American Dairy Coalition’s Sherry Bunting tells Brownfield fuel is an everyday expense on dairies.

“They don’t have a harvest window where they’re done and then they look ahead to the next season, it’s continual,” she explains. “It’s every day, and there’s no break from it.”

Bunting says the high fuel costs combined with low margins are contributing to an increase in herd dispersals in some regions.

“One of the things that was brought up to me by an auctioneer that has had so many requests for dispersals that he’s had to turn some down, (farmers) they’re concerned about carrying the herd through the winter at these prices,” she shares.

The Coalition is currently asking dairy farmers to complete its Dairy Fuel Survey before the end of the month with estimates of routine fuel use for feeding livestock, hauling manure, transporting milk, and other farm tasks.

Bunting says the results will be submitted to USDA to help inform potential payments to producers of non-Title I commodities.

USDA announced the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will use a national formula to distribute the $8 billion in payments based on reported planted acres, USDA cost-of-production estimates, and USDA yield and price data.

USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage Decision Tool is forecasting margin payments for September and October.