Sep 24, 2020 2 min read

Dairy farmers who have been forced to discard or displace milk during the pandemic have until Sept. 30 to apply for financial relief from those losses.

That is the application deadline for the CARES Act-funded Dairy Indemnity Program, state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said Wednesday.

“Early in the pandemic, our dairy industry was in a complete free-fall with no certainty,” Redding said in a statement. “This program is providing much-needed relief to our farmers.

“If you know a dairy farmer who faced the hardship of dumping milk down the drain, urge them to apply. This is not a handout, it’s a hand-up.”

Losses must have occurred between March 6 and Sept. 30. Redding encourages dairy farmers to apply if:

• They have experienced financial losses due to discarded or displaced milk and have not yet applied;
• They have been assessed a fee by their cooperative for discarded milk and have not yet applied;
• They did apply in those categories, but for only $1,500 in losses – or have incurred losses since their first application.

Cooperatives that have experienced a loss over discarded milk on behalf of member-producers, and have not yet assessed member-producers for losses, may be eligible for reimbursement if funding is available after all other claims have been paid.

Producers or cooperatives with eligibility questions should contact Morgan Sheffield, msheffield@pa.gov.