Milk Income Loss Contract Program

The Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency administers the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (CFDA 10.080), which provides payments to dairy operations that produced and commercially marketed milk during the October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2013 period to maintain and expand existing markets for dairy.

This program is not actively accepting new applications. The eligibility window closed in 2013, and the program operates on a historical basis for operations that met the production and marketing criteria during that specific seven-year period. No current grant opportunities are open, and the program does not disburse new awards to previously unfunded applicants. The Milk Income Loss Contract Program functioned as a time-limited income support mechanism tied to a specific historical production window rather than as an ongoing funding stream for current dairy operations.

Business development professionals should not pursue this program for new funding. The eligibility cutoff of September 30, 2013 means that any dairy operation beginning production or marketing after that date is ineligible regardless of current operational status or market conditions. Even operations that were active during the qualifying period but did not market milk commercially during those years remain ineligible. The program does not fund new market development, infrastructure, or technology adoption for dairy producers; it was structured solely as a contracted income-loss payment mechanism for a defined historical cohort.

This program is relevant only to organizations managing claims or records for dairy operations that operated during the 2007–2013 window and may still have unresolved payment or documentation issues with the Farm Service Agency. For organizations seeking current federal funding for dairy market support, rural infrastructure, or agricultural income stabilization, other USDA programs such as those under the Commodity Credit Corporation or current farm bill authorities would be the appropriate vehicles. The Milk Income Loss Contract Program represents a closed historical program with no forward-funding opportunity.