Caseload statistics from the U.S. Courts indicate that for the three-month period ending on March 31, 2018, there were 116 Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings in the U.S. These Chapter 12 bankruptcies are designed for "family farmers" or "family fishermen" with "regular annual income."

The American Farm Bureau Federation and American Farm Bureau Insurance Services have been working collaboratively with other partners to develop a new insurance product for dairy farmers. The proposal is for a Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) policy.

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and American Farm Bureau Insurance Services (AFBIS) have been working collaboratively with other partners to develop a new insurance product for dairy farmers. The proposal is for a Dairy-Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) policy. Similar to crop revenue protection policies, Dairy-RP would protect against unexpected declines in milk prices, unexpected declines in milk production, or both. This policy would be in addition to margin-based insurance offerings currently available to dairy farmers.

Editor’s note: This text is edited from its original version to fit this space. Visit the Program on Dairy Markets and Policy website to read the paper in its entirety. This article summarizes and discusses information the USDA has released about enrollment in the Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers (MPP-Dairy).

Editor’s note: The authors of this paper will be holding a webinar on how dairy producers can maximize the benefits of the new margin insurance program and protect against severe downturns on March 26, 2014. Visit the farmdoc webinars webpage to register for the webinar.