The Department of Agriculture and Markets last month announced that final payments under the New York State Dairy Assistance Program have been issued to 5,007 eligible dairy farmers statewide.

The Dairy Assistance Program, included in the 2007-08 State Budget, made $30 million available to dairy farmers who produced milk during the 2006 calendar year when milk prices were at extreme lows. As of Aug. 14, all $30 million has been paid in the form of direct payments to dairy producers throughout New York State. The average total payment under the Dairy Assistance Program was $5,991.43.

All New York dairy farmers who produced milk in 2006 and were in operation as of April 1, 2007 were eligible to apply for the Dairy Assistance Program. In order to distribute the $30 million fairly and efficiently, the State issued two checks. Eligible dairy producers received an “advance payment” for eligible milk at $.35 per hundredweight in April. This announcement recognizes the “final payment” under the Dairy Assistance Program, which paid producers $.05672 per hundredweight on eligible milk in order to use the entire $30 million allotted to the program.

The Dairy Assistance Program did have a 4.8 million pound cap on eligible milk production. Roughly nine percent of the State’s dairy producers met the cap on production and received a maximum payment of $19,522.56.