We thank USDA with the help of many members of Congress for stepping in, hearing our voices and working diligently to get money pushed out as quick as possible to help alleviate some of this pain. Farmers are struggling to continue producing a quality, safe and nutritious product with the current costs of doing business. Input costs have been at an unprecedented high with no foreseeable changes and farmers are struggling to keep up with these high costs at their current pay price for the specialty products they produce. Lia Sieler, Executive Director of Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, said: “We welcome the monetary resources allocated to dairy farmers through ODMAP with much anticipation. We look forward to working with USDA to cover more of the actual costs organic dairies are facing.” The alternative is we lose family farmers.

USDA is right to step in and offer support, and this is a good first step. Eligible producers include certified organic dairy operations that produce milk from cows, goats and sheep.Īdam Warthesen, co-chair of the Organic Trade Association’s Organic Feedstuffs Relief Task Force, and Senior Director of Government and Industry Affairs for Organic Valley said: “With unprecedented organic feed costs and inflationary pressures over the last couple of years, resources like ODMAP are really going to matter as farmers plan for the rest of this year.”īritt Lundgren, Senior Director of Sustainability and Government Affairs at Stonyfield, said: “The costs facing organic dairy today are uncommon and putting serious strain on operations. This program will keep our small organic dairies in operation as they continue to weather a combination of challenges outside of their control.”įSA will begin accepting applications for ODMAP on May 24, 2023. “Without assistance, many organic dairies, particularly small organic dairies, will cease production, which not only impacts the domestic supply and consumption of organic milk but also the well-being of many rural communities across the country. “Organic dairy producers have faced significant and unique increases in their marketing costs, compounded by increases in feed and transportation costs and the limited availability of organic grain and forage commodities,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. Specifically, under the ODMAP, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is making $104 million available to organic dairy operations to assist with projected marketing costs in 2023, calculated using their marketing costs in 2022. ODMAP is established to help mitigate market volatility, higher input and transportation costs, and unstable feed supply and prices that have created unique hardships in the organic dairy industry. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces assistance for dairy producers with the new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP).

Horizon milk