U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins unveiled enrollment details for the 2026 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, and that the USDA is preparing to buy $80 million worth of specialty crops under Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935, during an appearance at the 107th American Farm Bureau Federation Convention on Jan. 12.
DMC is a risk management program that offers assistance to producers whose margins between all-milk price and average feed cost fall under a certain level, the USDA explained. Producers select their coverage in $.50 increments between $4.00-9.50 per hundredweight (cwt) of milk.
Applications are now open for the DMC program, ending Feb. 26, and dairy producers can secure coverage levels for 2026-2031 with a 25% discounted premium fee. DMC offers various coverage tiers, with Tier 1 coverage expanding from 5 million pounds to 6 million pounds in 2026.
All dairy producers enrolling in DMC will create a new production history in 2026, while new dairy operations that start on Jan. 1, 2023, will use their first year of monthly milk marketings. Those operations that started before Jan. 1, 2023, should use the higher of milk marketings for 2021, 2022, or 2023.
“President Trump is making historic investments in the farm safety net, and today’s announcement is one more action that supports our dairy producers by managing risk and strengthening markets so they can continue to provide wholesome nutrition for Americans,” Rollins said in a press release.
Additionally, the USDA plans to buy up to $80 million in U.S.-produced specialty crops, split equally between almonds, grape juice, pistachios, and raisins, for food banks and nutrition assistance programs across the country.
This comes a week after the FDA, alongside the USDA, released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2025-2030, which features an inverted food pyramid, emphasising protein, animal fat, and whole food consumption, as AgTechNavigator’s sister publication reported.
“Our mission to Make America Healthy Again continues after the recent release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030 announcement, with the upcoming purchase of U.S.-grown food that will reach those in need, all while benefitting American farmers facing unfair actions from foreign competitors,” Rollins said in a statement.
