From Jim Mulhern, President and Chief Executive Officer, NMPF

"We appreciate the decision today by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to extend the sign-up deadline for the dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP) until Friday, November 20th. In his announcement, Secretary Vilsack acknowledged that fall is a busy time for dairy producers, and that the additional seven weeks for sign-up will help the decision-making process on using the MPP in 2016.

"When we asked the Secretary last week to extend the deadline past September, we expressed concern that the upcoming September 30 deadline to enroll in the MPP coincides with the fall harvest in many parts of the nation, as well as with the USDA ARC/PLC enrollment deadline. This MPP extension is consistent with Congress's goal in creating the program – a goal shared by NMPF – which is to maximize the opportunity for dairy farmers to utilize this crucial risk management tool.

"A similar signup period extension last fall greatly helped to boost enrollment in the program in calendar year 2015. We believe this extension, until November 20th, will likewise enhance participation in the MPP in the coming year."

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10.09.2015