WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal assistance is coming for organic dairy farmers as the industry contends with skyrocketing feed prices.

The USDA approved up to $100 million in January to create the new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program, which will help eligible producers cover a portion of their estimated marketing costs for 2023.

The program comes at the behest of organic trade groups and lawmakers who cautioned that, without support, small- and medium-size organic dairies face bankruptcy or corporate consolidation as feed prices soar.

“Milk production is down, and there are some farms that are making really hard choices,” said Adam Warthesen, director of government affairs for Organic Valley, the country’s largest farmer-owned organic cooperative.

Organic Valley is part of the national Organic Trade Association, which began lobbying Congress in November to craft an ad hoc disaster relief program for producers.

A group of 28 U.S. senators and representatives signed a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in December calling on the agency to come up with a solution.

“The situation is dire and requires your immediate attention,” they wrote. “Without rapid action, families are on track to lose their farms.”

In one example, the cost of organic soybeans in the U.S. rose from $19.37 per bushel in January 2021 to $40.52 per bushel in May 2022, according to the OTA. That’s a nearly 110% price increase in 16 months.

Additional data from Mercaris, a market research firm that specializes in organic agriculture, shows the average price of feed for organic dairy cows jumped by nearly $200 per head from 2018 to 2022.

Warthesen, with Organic Valley, said there are several factors driving the increase.

First, the U.S. does not currently grow enough organic feed domestically, meaning farmers must import the product from other countries. One of those is Ukraine, which Warthesen described as one of the largest producers of organic grain in Europe and around the world.

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has dramatically hampered those exports, Warthesen said.

Last year, the Department of Commerce also began imposing new antidumping duties on organic soybeans from India. Warthesen estimated that 70% of the organic soybeans used in the U.S. organic livestock market are from India.

Finally, the domestic production that is available has been impacted by severe drought, particularly in California and the West.

“We’re seeing that maybe farmers aren’t feeding as aggressively as they typically would,” Warthesen said. “We’re also seeing that they’re culling cows. Those are the types of decisions that farmers are making.”

The Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program will not compensate directly for feed costs, but will offset other marketing costs for producers — such as transportation, organic certification costs and co-op membership dues.

Payments will be administered by the Farm Service Agency, provided by leftover resources from earlier pandemic assistance programs through the Commodity Credit Corporation.

Organic dairies could have up to 75% of their estimated marketing costs covered, capped at the first 5 million pounds of anticipated production. This makes the program particularly beneficial for smaller family farms, Warthesen said.

“We’re trying to figure out every path we can to keep family farms on the land,” he said. “Will this be enough to cover what farmers have faced the last couple of years? No. Will it be something? Yes.”