USDA to Begin Making Dairy Payments;
Leahy, Jeffords and Sanders Hail Long-Awaited Payments

(Oct. 15) -- The Vermont Congressional Delegation -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Jim Jeffords and Rep. Bernie Sanders – Tuesday announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will finally begin making long-awaited payments to Vermont dairy farmers under the new national dairy program.

The new dairy program was championed by the Vermont Congressional Delegation and enacted as part of the new farm bill, signed into law in May.  The Department missed the statutory deadline requiring USDA to make payments to dairy farmers by Oct. 1, and in late September, under pressure from Leahy, Jeffords and Sanders, promised Vermont dairy farmers that payments would be made by Oct. 15.

"Dairy farmers finally will receive payments covering the months of December 2001 through September 2002," said Leahy.  "With milk prices as low as they have been, these payments are sorely needed.  I am glad the long wait is finally over.”

Jeffords said, "While I recognize that farmers will continue to struggle given the current price of milk, I am hopeful these payments will provide some relief until milk prices recover.  These payments won't make milking a cow any easier, but they might make paying the bills less painful."

"Against incredible odds, the Vermont delegation was able to push forward a national dairy program that will provide substantial help to family dairy farmers in Vermont and across the country, said Sanders.  While it has been disappointing that USDA took so long to get the payments out, the help will be welcome news to farmers who are facing record low prices."   

The startup of payments has been anxiously awaited by Vermont's dairy farmers, who are facing the lowest milk prices in ten years.  Prices plummeted by nearly $4 per hundredweight of milk last December and have fallen virtually each month since then. Milk prices have been this low only three times in the last 25 years.  Many producers also are facing higher feed costs due to both drought and flooding and to higher feed corn prices.  Low milk prices are providing windfall profits for milk processors like Dean Foods and supermarkets:  While the prices farmers receive for their milk has plummeted since December 2001, consumer milk prices in the New England states remain virtually unchanged.

The law required USDA to begin enrolling producers in the program in July and to issue the first payments to producers by Oct. 1.  USDA failed to begin the signup on time and did not allow producers to enroll until Aug. 13.  In August Leahy, Jeffords and Sanders wrote to Agriculture Secretary Veneman, urging her to avoid further delays and to do all possible to meet the Oct. 1 deadline for making payments.  Last month Leahy grilled Veneman on USDA's handling of the new dairy program during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.  Veneman said USDA would not likely meet the Oct. 1 deadline, but she said she would do everything possible to make the payments sometime in October.  Finally, on Sept. 27, USDA officials held a news conference assuring dairy farmers that payments would be made by Oct. 15 at the latest.

# # # # #