Twenty-five members of Congress pleaded with President Joseph R. Biden Jr. this week to reimburse dairy farmers millions of dollars for lost milk revenue as the market faces continued disruption in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Congressman Antonio R. Delgado, D-Rhinebeck, a member of the Agriculture Committee, led the group of federal representatives to send a letter to Biden, a Democrat, on Wednesday asking for $725 million to compensate dairy farmers nationwide for foregone milk revenue after changes to milkâs national pricing structure in the 2018 Farm Bill and compounding difficulties caused by COVID-19.
âOur dairy producers continue to operate in an extremely difficult economic climate due to forces outside of their control,â according to the letter. âIn addition to causing massive market disruption, the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought significant price volatility upon our farmers and saddled them with higher feed, labor, equipment and energy costs.