On July 20, 2017 the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2018 agriculture appropriations bill. At the request of Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Vice Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), the bill included crucial improvements in the dairy and cotton farm bill safety net programs. A Market Intel update reviews the proposed improvements to the Market Protection Program and estimates how these changes would have altered program performance during the first two years of coverage.  

The improvements to the dairy safety net were designed to improve the program’s effectiveness and encourage farmers to participate at buy-up levels of coverage. The proposed changes would become effective during a portion of the 2018 calendar year.