Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/6/18

The USDA said Tuesday that so far, more than 20,000 dairy farmers across the country have signed up for the Margin Protection Program, which Congress modified earlier this year in order to send additional money to producers.

The enrollment period remains open until Friday, and Bill Northey, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation, told reporters that he expects more producers to enroll than last year. In 2017, about 20,300 dairy operations participated, accounting for 64 percent of U.S. milk production — the lowest level since MPP was enacted in the 2014 farm bill.

Sign-up incentives: The revisions Congress made to MPP are retroactive to January, and included lowering premiums for higher levels of coverage. The new rules also exempt socially disadvantaged dairy farmers from a $100 administrative fee, and payments are being sent out payments monthly rather than bimonthly. MPP triggers payments when the difference between the price of milk and feed drops below a margin insured by the producer.

The USDA has already sent about $19 million in checks to the many producers who signed up for higher levels of coverage, and therefore would have received an MPP payment in the last few months under the changes enacted by Congress. "These checks are important in challenging times," Northey said, noting that the department will send out more assistance in the coming weeks.