December 21, 2009

Maine's dairy farmers to receive federal aid

Dairy farmers in the US state of Maine are now eligible for US$1.5 million in federal aid from the USDA.

A US$447 billion spending bill recently approved by Congress includes US$290 million for the Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment programme, with US$1.5 million going to Maine.

The one-time subsidy check is about US$4,700 per dairy farmer, and they could be mailed out as early as Thursday, said Tim Drake, executive director of the Maine Milk Commission.

Only the first six million pounds of milk that a farm produces are eligible, and dairy producers that had a gross income of over US$500,000 from 2006 to 2008 are not eligible.

Dairy farmers have been struggling with milk prices that hover around 1976 levels, and 18 farms have closed this year, said Drake. A state dairy subsidy programme ran out of money earlier this year, and a task force has been charged with generating ways to revamp the programme. Nationally, milk prices in 2009 declined 27%, and the price farmers received for the milk was about half of what it cost to produce it.