Round one of the program distributed 35.6 million food boxes, May 15-June 30. Distribution during round two, which ends Aug. 31, is estimated at 36.1 million food boxes. Funding for those two rounds was estimated at about $2.67 billion.
Under the USDA’s Basic Ordering Agreement, food boxes must contain fresh fruit and vegetables and 5-6 pounds of meat items. Specific to dairy, the food boxes must contain 5-6 pounds of at least two dairy items (cheeses, yogurt, butter, cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream), plus fluid milk.
The dairy product purchases, alongside traditional federal feeding program purchases, help spur demand at a time dairy sales though food service channels are suppressed. Chicago Mercantile Exchange fourth-quarter 2020 Class III milk futures and cash cheddar block cheese prices moved higher following the announcement.
Entities authorized to distribute food boxes under the first two rounds must resubmit proposals to participate in round three.
CFAP payment totals updated
The USDA’s weekly update of direct payments to agricultural producers under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) did not indicate significant increases in dairy sign-up or payments. The second (and smaller) installment of CFAP payments were just getting underway.
As of Aug. 24, dairy applications processed by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices stood at 23,246, with direct payments totaling just over $1.699 billion. Applicants and payments were up 263 and about $14 million, respectively, from the week before.
The top states for CFAP dairy payments as of Aug. 24 were:
1. Wisconsin: $333.3 million – 5,824 applicants
2. California: $251 million – 954 applicants
3. New York: $161.4 – 2,544 applicants
4. Minnesota: $105.4 million – 2,425 applicants
5. Pennsylvania: $101.6 million – 2,574 applicants
6. Michigan: $89.1 million – 876 applicants
7. Idaho: $71.5 million – 318 applicants
8. Iowa: $51.3 million – 966 applicants
9. Texas: $50.8 million – 294 applicants
10. Ohio: $48.7 million – 921 applicants
11. Washington: $47.1 million – 270 applicants
Depending on your starting point, CFAP sign-up through Aug. 24 represented about 68% of the average number of dairy farms licensed to market milk in 2019 (latest estimate available), or 88% of dairy operations with annual milk production history recorded with FSA under the Dairy Margin Coverage program.
Weekly USDA updates provide some interesting preliminary analysis. Sign-up for the program began May 26. Through the first three months of the CFAP program, Wisconsin received the highest number of CFAP payments in terms of both applicants (5,822) and total dollars ($333.3 million). However, in terms of average payment per applicant, Wisconsin ranked 28th at $57,253.
It’s no surprise that the leading states in terms of applicants are where the dairy farms are, regardless of herd size:
1. Wisconsin – 5,822
2. Pennsylvania – 2,574
3. New York – 2,544
4. Minnesota – 2,425
5. Iowa – 966
Leading states in terms of total dairy payments are where lots of milk is produced:
1. Wisconsin, $333.3 million
2. California, $251 million
3. New York, $161.4 million
4. Minnesota, $105.4 million
5. Pennsylvania, $101.6 million
With the larger herd sizes and higher volumes of milk marketings, average payments per dairy applicants were highest in the West. Payments to date averaged more than $100,000 in 14 states:
New Mexico – $354,615
Arizona – $335,559
Nevada – $320,337
Colorado – $298,865
California – $263,144
Florida – $243,982
Idaho – $224,993
Washington – $174,428
Texas – $172,929
Oregon – $140,373
Wyoming – $140,225
Utah – $128,163
Georgia – $120,829
Michigan – $101,757 
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Dave Natzke
- Editor
- Progressive Dairy
- Email Dave Natzke
