Dairy farmers eligible for pandemic-related assistance

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says help is on the way for dairy farmers who got a lower price for their products because of pandemic-related market abnormalities. The department said Thursday that it will provide about $350 million in assistance payments to eligible farmers. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says family dairy farmers have been battered by the pandemic, trade issues and unpredictable weather. USDA says qualified dairy farmers will get payments for 80% of the revenue difference per month based on an annual production of up to 5 million pounds of milk marketed and on fluid milk sales from July through December 2020.