WASHINGTON—Struggling dairy farmers may be eligible for additional assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program.

The recently announced second round of payments will provide assistance to small and medium-size dairy farms that face ongoing challenges related to the pandemic.

Nearly $100 million will be available to dairy producers and will be administered through dairy handlers and cooperatives. The PMVAP helps farmers who received a lower value for their milk due to market abnormalities caused by the pandemic.

Under PMVAP, dairy farmers with fluid milk sales between 5 million and 9 million pounds from July through December 2020 are eligible for payments.

The new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program will provide assistance to organic dairy farms whose unique challenges and higher costs have been compounded by the pandemic and drought conditions. Nearly $100 million will be available to small organic dairy farms to help defray a portion of their estimated 2023 marketing costs.

Under ODMAP, payments to organic dairy farmers will be capped at the first 5 million pounds of their anticipated 2023 organic milk production.

More information about the PMVAP can be found at ams.usda.gov/pmvap. More information about the ODMAP will be available and updated at farmers.gov as more details are released in a Notice of Funds Availability later this year.