Contacts:
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829
Diane Bothfeld, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3835

Friday, March 23, 2007

Montpelier, Vt. – Montpelier, Vt - Funds to assist Vermont’s Dairy Farmers are on the way. Through action taken by Governor Douglas and the Vermont Legislature, the Vermont Target Price Program was extended in February 2007 providing $3 million to be paid to Vermont dairy farmers by the end of March 2007. This payment recognizes the continued issues Vermont dairy farmers face from adverse weather conditions, high fuel prices, and low milk prices.

The program provides a one-time payment based on January and February 2007 milk production. This data was collected by the USDA Farm Services Agency and then transferred to the Agency of Agriculture to allow for the calculation of the payments. The total pounds for January and February of 2007 were divided into the allocated $3 million dollars to provide a payment rate of $0.74 per hundred pounds of milk ($0.737503). The average check received by dairy farmers is $2,467.00. Vermont dairy farmers will use this money to pay for feed costs, fuel costs and to purchase items for spring planting such as seed and fertilizer.

“In 2006, all 14 Vermont counties were declared disaster areas due to adverse weather conditions that decreased crop yields and crop quality on Vermont farms,” said Governor Douglas. “Those crop issues coupled with rising input costs for fuel and grain and low milk prices have posed critical challenges for many Vermont farmers.”

The extended Vermont Target Price Program added $3 million dollars to the $8.6 million dollars expended in 2006. Disaster Relief Funds are currently a part of the Iraq Emergency Funding Bill moving through the House and Senate in Washington, DC. In 2006, The USDA Farm Service Agency valued crop losses at $54 million and the Disaster Relief Funds were put into place to offset those losses. The dairy industry in Vermont generates over $2 billion for our economy each year.

“It was the cooperation of the USDA Farm Service in Vermont, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Office of the Treasurer working together seamlessly to get these payments to dairy farmers on schedule,” said Roger Allbee, Vermont Secretary of Agriculture. “These funds will be helpful to Vermont’s Dairy farmers and extend the bridge until federal disaster relief funds are available.”