USDA offers a variety of programs that support America’s dairy farmers. Photo by Lauren Moore, USDA

By Richard Fordyce, Farm Service Agency Administrator 

Each June, we celebrate National Dairy Month! Since 1937, this month has been set aside to mark the importance of the dairy industry and the products it produces to America’s agricultural sector and to hundreds of millions of Americans and consumers around the world.

Many of the country’s 37,000 dairy farms are family-owned, and more than 3 million jobs are supported, with $38 billion in direct wages for workers, by the U.S. dairy industry.

Times are tough for America’s dairy industry. Costs are high, and margins have been squeezed. In fact, the dairy industry is now in its fifth consecutive year of low prices, which – at least in part – prompted more than 2,700 dairy farms to go out of business in 2018 alone.

Dairy Margin Coverage Program

USDA is working to support dairy producers. One way is through the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program, which producers can begin signing up for this week. The signup began Monday and runs through Sept. 20. USDA has partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to provide a DMC decision tool that will help producers make coverage choices that will best benefit their individual dairy operation. Continue reading →

The Elgin’s granddaughters, Carly and Emily, live on the farm and are active at J-Team every day.

By Donna Olinger, FSA

Jim and Terri Elgin took a leap of faith when they purchased their Orange County, Virginia, farm in 2002.  They had been involved in a family farming operation in Fauquier County when they decided to venture out on their own, along with their three daughters, Erin, Ashley and Molly.

Wanting to be creative when deciding the operation’s name, the Elgins decided to take the first letter of each name – Jim, Terri, Erin, Ashley and Molly – to create “J-Team Dairy.” Terri thought the name was a good fit because they operate as a team.

“After the girls went to college they all had new ideas and we made it a point to meet as a family and listen to them,” said Terri.  “We couldn’t always incorporate the ideas they had, but we would meet together as a family and make a list of the pros and cons before making a decision.”

The dairy milks 175 cows three times a day. The farm also grows approximately 170 acres of corn each year and harvests around 150 acres of small grain forage. Continue reading →

Savannah is passionate about getting people to re-think how they eat and live.

By Heather Emmons, USDA

Savannah Gates is a hydroponic farmer in Amarillo, Texas, who literally lives at the crossroads of Hope and Farmers — and lives by the connection of those words, too.  Her path in life hasn’t been straight, but every curve she’s taken has helped to build her farming business into what it is today.

While she studied mechanical engineering at Texas Tech University, she traveled to Hungary to study sustainability and learned from mentors in the food and beverage industry along the way.

Ingredients for Success

Being a self-taught farmer, there are a lot of different ingredients that make up Savannah. She’s a little bit educator, communicator, entrepreneur, engineer, pioneer, and problem solver.

She is passionate about getting people to re-think how they eat and live. Continue reading →

The Livestock Forage Program helped the ranch recover after severe drought.

By Arnie Schlittenhart, Arizona Farm Service Agency

Last November, Al Thomas surveyed the barren rangeland on his Silver Spur Ranch, located near the Tolani Lake Chapter of the Navajo Nation in north-central Arizona.

Just 18 months earlier, Al had enough green forage to support his herd of 40 cow-calf pairs. Unfortunately, last year’s severe drought forced him to reduce his herd to only nine cows.

Dealing with Drought

“We didn’t get any significant rainfall in 2017 and through three-quarters of 2018,” Al said. “Unfortunately, we had to start reducing our herd in late August 2018 because we didn’t know if we were going to get any rain. Most of the forage started oxidizing because of the lack of rain; it was something that I never experienced as a rancher.”

Al contacted his local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Flagstaff and applied for the Livestock Forage Disaster Assistance Program (LFP), which provides livestock producers with assistance for grazing losses due to drought.

“The drought assistance funds sure came in handy. I used the funds to pay for hay, mineral and protein supplement tubs and water for our cattle,” he said. “The funds also supplemented our own dollars, which made it a little easier to endure the drought. Our cattle surprisingly stayed healthy and in good body condition.” Continue reading →

Grace received her first youth loan when she was 10.

By Lacy Roberts, Farm Service Agency

When Grace Rooney took out her first youth loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) at the age of 10, she didn’t quite know where it would lead. Now, five years later, she has ribbons, rosettes, trophies and a small farm of her own.

These loans help youth between the ages of 10 and 21 start and operate income-producing projects in connection with their participation in 4-H, the National FFA Organization, a tribal youth group, or other similar agricultural youth organization. They provide an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to acquire experience and education in agriculture-related skills.

Grace’s youth loan helped her purchase a hog and items she would need to care for it. After the first project went well, she came back and applied for a second year and expanded her plans to include a market lamb. Continue reading →

Perry protects his oysters with FSA’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

By Leila Naylor, Rhode Island Farm Service Agency

Perry Raso is the owner of Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, where he serves oysters and vegetables fresh from his farm. This farm-to-table restaurant shucks thousands of oysters year-round and serves over 600 meals a day.

Working on the Water

Perry established his oyster farm in 2002 when he decided to lease acres on Potter Pond, a saltwater pond in South Kingstown. He began selling his oysters at a local restaurant and later branched out to selling at farmers markets and eventually wholesale.

Perry’s oyster farm now spans seven acres on Potter Pond, the oysters arranged in rows underwater. The farm gets seed oysters, about one millimeter in size, from a hatchery in Maine. These tiny oysters go into a nursery system where they grow in a carefully maintained, safe environment until they are big enough to grow out in Potter Pond. Continue reading →

Amy grows fruits, vegetables and cut flowers on her farm in Charles City.

By Laura Fisher, FSA Farm Loan Specialist

Amy Hicks, owner and operator of Amy’s Garden in Charles City, Virginia, developed a passion for playing in the dirt at an early age. She grew up eating a variety of vegetables fresh from her grandparent’s garden and watching her grandmother can and preserve garden crops – memories that would impact her later in life.

Amy and her husband, George Ferguson, had a backyard garden at their home in Richmond until they moved to the countryside in 1998 where they began their small farm operation. The couple now grow a large variety of USDA Certified Organic vegetables and small fruits, along with cut flowers, on their farm.

Expanding the Operation

Microloans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) helped Amy grow her garden operation. Microloans provide flexible access to credit for small, beginning and niche agricultural operations. Continue reading →

The family started Paul Family Sugarbush in 2014.

By: Savannah Halleaux, FSA

Jesse and Tracey Paul of Paul Family Sugarbush in Trout Creek, Michigan, and their five children – Austin, Daltin, Priscilla, Bethany, and Mitchell – work together as a family to produce up to 4,000 gallons of pure maple syrup every spring from 300 acres of maple trees in the state’s Upper Peninsula.

Path to Ownership

Wanting to give their children a new opportunity, Jesse and Tracey started Paul Family Sugarbush in 2014.

“In our hearts, we wanted to give our children a different opportunity than we had, so Tracey suggested the farm,” said Jesse.

Jesse had concerns about the challenges he and his family would face purchasing and sustaining a new farm. He and Tracey looked to USDA’s Farm Service Agency for assistance in farm ownership. FSA farm ownership loans help producers become owner-operators of family farms as well as improve and expand current operations.  Continue reading →