SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Struggling dairy farmers would get refunds to make up for a failed milk-pricing insurance program, under a plan proposed by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Many of upstate New York’s 4,420 dairies paid millions of dollars into the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Margin Protection Program, which is supposed to cover production losses when the price of milk falls or feed costs rise.
But Gillibrand says the program hasn’t paid out, despite all the large sums farmers put into it.
“I’ve heard from dairy farmers all over New York that the current dairy insurance program is not working,” she said. “Right now, our dairy farmers are in the midst of a serious financial slump through no fault of their own.
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