Northwest Iowa — Dairy producers in Northwest Iowa, and across, the country are getting some help from the USDA.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary, and former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, says revenues for dairy producers have dropped 35-percent over the past two years, and that’s led to a surplus of cheese which is at its highest level in 30 years.
The purchase is valued at $20-million and should help the market “a bit,” according to Vilsack. The 11-million pound purchase is far less than the amounts recommended by the National Milk Producers Federation and the American Farm Bureau, however.
In addition to the cheese purchase, Vilsack has extended the deadline for signup for the Margin Protection Program. Instead of having until September 30th, dairy producers now have until December 16th. Iowa ranks 7th in the country for cheese production. Wisconsin and California are by far the top two cheese producing states in the U.S.
