Senator Chuck Schumer says dairy farmers in New York and across the country need help contending with falling milk prices.
New York is the third-largest dairy state in the nation. Saying he recognizes the importance of keeping dairy farms on firm financial ground, Schumer wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture to change the rules on dairy farm insurance to allow farmers to spread their premium payments over 12 months. The Democrat insists the change is warranted because farmers are struggling. "Prices had been great two years ago. It was almost 'dairy heaven' for our farmers because they were getting $24 per hundred pounds of milk. There was great demand, particularly overseas. Now it's gone down to about 15 per hundred, the world economy has slowed down, the cost of the dollar has gone up, hurting exports. Milk prices are typically volatile, but this is a big extended downturn, hurting dairy farms from western New York to the Capital Region, to the North Country down to the Hudson Valley."
Currently, dairy insurance rules require a 25 percent payment in February and the full balance due in June. Schumer says the price lull impacts some 5,421 upstate dairy farms. "602 farms in the Capital Region, 539 farms in western New York, 1,019 dairy farms in central New York, 1,022 dairy farms in Rochester/Finger Lakes, 1,126 in the Southern Tier, 130 in the Hudson Valley and 983 in the North Country."
Schumer explains how the insurance premium payment change would work: "The dairy co-op who buy and market the milk on behalf of our individual farmers, could front the insurance premium for individual farms and then be paid back by the farm monthly via their co-op payment."
Jeff King with King Brothers Dairy in Schuylerville in Saratoga County likes Schumer's proposal. "Some farmers may have insurance premiums that can be substantial amounts, all the way down to very low amounts, or, if you didn't participate, obviously zero. And for those farmers who do have larger insurance premiums, I think it's a great program. A great idea which essentially allows them to much more easily cash flow expenses for their farm."
Schumer notes the change does not require legislation and would give cash-strapped dairy farmers more flexibility in paying their bills. The USDA did not reply to a request for comment.
