Leahy, Welch Encourage Dairy Farmers To Sign Up For New Insurance Program

Press Release

At a farm in East Montpelier, Senator Patrick Leahy and Representative Peter Welch Thursday encouraged Vermont's dairy farmers to enroll in the new Margin Protection Program (MPP) and announced a series of workshops for interested participants.

MPP is a voluntary insurance program included in the new Farm Bill that protects dairy farmers from market fluctuations in milk prices. The program replaces the expired Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC).

Senator Leahy, the most senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a Senate conferee during House-Senate negotiations on the bill, along with Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Welch, successfully fought to include this vital safety net program in the bill signed into law by President Obama in February.

In a joint statement, Leahy Sanders and Welch said: "Wild swings in milk and feed prices have driven many Vermont farmers out of business. After a long fight in Congress, dairy farmers finally have a real safeguard against the booms and busts of the market. We strongly encourage farmers to take a good hard look at this important program. These new information resources will help."

The new program opened for enrollment on September 2, 2014. Farmers have until November 28, 2014, to enroll for coverage in 2014 and 2015.

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