The following definitions apply to the Milk Loss Program.

Affected farmer means an individual person or legal entity who produces milk which is removed from the commercial market any time or who produces but was unable to deliver milk to a commercial market as a result of a qualifying disaster event, which is limited to either a:

1. (1) Weather-related event preventing transportation of the milk; or
2. (2) Weather-related event causing a power outage or structural damage causing milk to be unmerchantable.

Application period means any period during calendar year 2023 and 2024 which an affected farmer's milk is dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial market due to a qualifying disaster event for which application for payment is made.

Average adjusted gross farm income means the average of the person's or legal entity's adjusted gross income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry operations, including losses, for the 3 taxable years preceding the most immediately preceding complete taxable year.

1. (1) If the resulting average adjusted gross farm income derived from paragraphs (1) through (13) of the definition for “income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry operations” in this section is at least 66.66 percent of the average adjusted gross income of the person or legal entity, then the average adjusted gross farm income may also take into consideration income or benefits derived from the following:

   1. (i) The sale, trade, or other disposition of equipment to conduct farm, ranch, or forestry operations; and
   2. (ii) The provision of production inputs and services to farmers, ranchers, foresters, and farm operations.
2. (2) For legal entities not required to file a Federal income tax return, or a person or legal entity that did not have taxable income in 1 or more of the tax years during the 3 taxable years preceding the most immediately preceding complete taxable year, the average gross farm income will be the adjusted gross farm income, including losses, averaged for the base period, as determined by FSA. For a legal entity created during the base period, the adjusted gross farm income average will include only those years of the base period for which it was in business; however, a new legal entity will not be considered “new” to the extent it takes over an existing operation and has any elements of common ownership interest and land with the preceding person or legal entity from which it took over. When there is such commonality, income of the previous person or legal entity will be averaged with that of the new legal entity for the base period. For a person filing a joint tax return, the certification of average adjusted gross farm income may be reported as if the person had filed a separate Federal tax return, and the calculation is consistent with the information supporting the filed joint return.

3. (3) The relevant tax years are:

   1. (i) For the 2023 program year, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
   2. (ii) For the 2024 program year, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Average adjusted gross income means the average of the adjusted gross income as defined under 26 U.S.C. 62 or comparable measure of the person or legal entity for the relevant tax years, which are:

1. (1) For the 2023 program year, 2019, 2020, and 2021; and
2. (2) For the 2024 program year, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Base period means the first full calendar month prior to the claim period in which no qualifying disaster event occurred. If the claim period is multiple consecutive months, the base period remains the same calendar month preceding the start of the claim period.

Claim period means the calendar month, or months, in which milk was dumped or removed and usually is the calendar month immediately following the base period.

Commercial market means the market to which the affected farmer normally delivers milk and from which it was removed.

County committee means the FSA county committee.

Deputy Administrator means the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, FSA.

Farming operation means a business enterprise engaged in the production of agricultural products, commodities, or livestock, operated by a person, legal entity, or joint operation. A person or legal entity may have more than one farming operation if the person or legal entity is a member of one or more legal entities or joint operations.

FSA means the Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry operations means income of an individual or entity derived from:

1. (1) Production of crops, specialty crops, and unfinished raw forestry products;
2. (2) Production of livestock, aquaculture products used for food, honeybees, and products derived from livestock;
3. (3) Production of farm-based renewable energy;
4. (4) Selling (including the sale of easements and development rights) of farm, ranch, and forestry land, water or hunting rights, or environmental benefits;
5. (5) Rental or lease of land or equipment used for farming, ranching, or forestry operations, including water or hunting rights;
6. (6) Processing, packing, storing, and transportation of farm, ranch, forestry commodities including renewable energy;
7. (7) Feeding, rearing, or finishing of livestock;
8. (8) Payments of benefits, including benefits from risk management practices, crop insurance indemnities, and catastrophic risk protection plans;
9. (9) Sale of land that has been used for agricultural purposes;
10. (10) Payments and benefits authorized under any program made available and applicable to payment eligibility and payment limitation rules;
11. (11) Income reported on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Schedule F or other schedule used by the person or legal entity to report income from such operations to the IRS;
12. (12) Wages or dividends received from a closely held corporation, and IC-DISC or legal entity comprised entirely of family members when more than 50 percent of the legal entity's gross receipts for each tax year are derived from farming, ranching, or forestry activities as defined in this subpart; and

13. (13) Any other activity related to farming, ranching, and forestry, as determined by the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs.

    Legal entity, as used in this subpart:

14. (1) Means an entity that is created under Federal or State law and that:

    1. (i) Owns land or an agricultural commodity; or
    2. (ii) Produces an agricultural commodity; and
15. (2) Includes corporations, joint stock companies, associations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, irrevocable trusts, estates, charitable organizations, general partnerships, joint ventures, and other similar organizations created under Federal or State law including any such organization participating in a business structure as a partner in a general partnership, a participant in a joint venture, a grantor of a revocable trust, or as a participant in a similar organization. A business operating as a sole proprietorship is considered a legal entity.

Milk marketing organization means the marketing agency to or through which the affected dairy farmer marketed milk at the time the milk was either dumped or unable to be delivered to the commercial market due to a qualifying disaster event.

Ownership interest means to have either a legal ownership interest or a beneficial ownership interest in a legal entity. For the purposes of administering this subpart, a person or legal entity that owns a share or stock in a legal entity that is a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, or similar type entity where members hold a legal ownership interest and shares in the profits or losses of such entity is considered to have an ownership interest in such legal entity. A person or legal entity that is a beneficiary of a trust or heir of an estate who benefits from the profits or losses of such entity is considered to have a beneficial ownership interest in such legal entity.

Pay period means:

1. (1) In the case of an affected farmer who markets milk through a milk marketing organization, the period used by the milk marketing organization in settling with the affected farmer for milk, usually biweekly or monthly; or
2. (2) In the case of an affected farmer whose commercial market consists of direct retail sales to consumers, a calendar month.

Payment subject to refund means a payment which is made by a milk marketing organization to an affected farmer, and which such farmer is obligated to refund to the milk marketing organization.

Person means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, trust, estate, or other legal entity.

Production inputs mean material to conduct farming operations, such as seeds, chemicals, and fencing supplies.

Production services mean services provided to support a farming operation, such as custom farming, custom feeding, and custom fencing.

Qualifying disaster event means droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions that occurred in calendar year 2023 or 2024.

Qualifying drought means an area within the county was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a:

1. (1) D2 (severe drought) intensity for at least 8 consecutive weeks in the applicable calendar year; or
2. (2) D3 (extreme drought) or higher intensity for any period of time during the applicable calendar year.

Related condition means damaging weather and adverse natural occurrences that occurred concurrently with and as a direct result of a specified qualifying disaster event. Related conditions include, but are not limited to:

1. (1) Excessive wind that occurred as a direct result of a derecho;
2. (2) Silt and debris that occurred as a direct and proximate result of flooding;
3. (3) Excessive wind, storm surges, tornadoes, tropical storms, and tropical depressions that occurred as a direct result of a hurricane; and
4. (4) Excessive wind and blizzards that occurred as a direct result of a winter storm.

Removed from the commercial market means:

1. (1) Produced and destroyed or fed to livestock;
2. (2) Produced and delivered to a milk marketing organization who destroyed it or disposed of it as salvage; or
3. (3) Produced and otherwise diverted to other than the commercial market.

State committee means the FSA State committee.

[84 FR 48534, Sept. 13, 2019, as amended at 88 FR 62288, Sept. 11, 2023; 90 FR 51975, Nov. 18, 2025]