Section 1 Emergency payments
In general— Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the “Secretary”) shall issue emergency payments to dairy producers according to criteria developed by the Secretary under subsection (b).
Criteria—
In general— The Secretary shall develop criteria for the issuance of emergency payments under subsection (a).
Priority— In developing criteria under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
give priority to a dairy producer—
located in a State with a high cost of dairy production compared to other States; or
on a farm with a high cost of dairy production based on the size of the farm, as determined by the Secretary; and
in carrying out subparagraph (A), use the most current estimates of the Economic Research Service for the cost of milk production by State and nationwide.
Payment limitation— An emergency payment under subsection (a) shall be not less than $10,000 but not greater than $20,000 per dairy operation.
Funding— Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section $556,000,000 for fiscal year 2019, to remain available until expended.