Dairy Premium Refund Act of 2018

To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to return premiums paid under the margin protection program for dairy producers to participating dairy operations. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Dairy Premium Refund Act of 2018 2. Repayment of premiums to participating dairy operations Section 1407 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 ( 7 U.S.C. 9057 (f) Repayment of premiums (1) In general For the 2015 calendar year and each calendar year thereafter, the Secretary shall repay to participating dairy operations an amount equal to the difference between— (A) the total amount of premiums paid by participating dairy operations under this section for the applicable calendar year; and (B) the sum obtained by adding— (i) the total amount of payments made to participating dairy operations under section 1406 for that calendar year; and (ii) the costs of carrying out the margin protection program for that calendar year. (2) Applicability Paragraph (1) shall only apply to a calendar year for which the amount described in subparagraph (A) of that paragraph is greater than the amount described in subparagraph (B) of that paragraph. (3) Allocation of payments A repayment to a participating dairy operation under paragraph (1) shall be based on the proportion that— (A) the amount of premiums paid by the participating dairy operation under this section for the applicable calendar year; bears to (B) the total amount of premiums paid by participating dairy operations under this section for that calendar year. (4) Reduction for payments received (A) In general A repayment to a participating dairy operation under paragraph (1) for a calendar year shall be an amount equal to the difference between— (i) the amount of the repayment to the participating dairy operation determined under paragraph (3) for the calendar year; and (ii) the amount of payments made to the participating dairy operation under section 1406 for the calendar year. (B) Applicability No payment shall be required under this subsection in the case of an amount determined under subparagraph (A) that is less than or equal to zero. .

Summary: Dairy Premium Refund Act of 2018 This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014, with respect to the Dairy Margin Protection Program, to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to repay certain premiums to participating dairy operations. (The Dairy Margin Protection Program is a voluntary program that makes payments to participating dairy operations when a formula-based national margin [the difference between the national all milk price and the national average feed cost] falls below a producer-selected insured margin.) For 2015 and each succeeding year, USDA must repay to participating dairy operations an amount equal to the difference between: the total amount of premiums paid by participating dairy operations under the program for the year; and the sum of: (1) the total payments made to participating dairy operations under the program for the year, and (2) the costs of carrying out the program for the year. A repayment made to a participating dairy operation must be reduced by the amount of payments made to the operation under the program during the year.