So many dairy farmers getting paid for 'forever chemicals', USDA is short of money, and other sectors may need it

Bloomberg Law chart

So many dairy farmers are getting federal compensation for not being able to sell their milk due to contamination from "forever chemicals" that the Department of Agriculture is running out of money to pay them, Maeve Sheehey reports for Bloomberg Law.

"Farmers are struggling to get reimbursed at all for contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS," Sheehey reports. "The federal government lacks programs to deal with the toxic chemicals, which are ubiquitous because of their longtime use in products such as nonstick cookware and firefighting foam. They’ve been linked to cancer, weaker immune systems, and other health problems."

The Agriculture Department's Dairy Indemnity Payment Program was created in 1968 "to reimburse farmers who are directed by federal agencies to stop selling their milk because of contamination from chemicals like pesticides," Sheehey notes. "The payment program wasn’t created with forever chemicals in mind. . . . Of the roughly $1.8 million the Dairy Indemnity Payment Program paid for contaminated milk in 2021, about $1.5 million — or almost 88% — went to PFAS-related claims in Maine and New Mexico."

Other sectors of agriculture are or will be affected. "It’s hard to say which farmers will be hit worst in the absence of further research, but a recent Northeastern University study shows contamination in over 50,000 locations across the country," Sheehey reports. "The report highlights a dreaded realization for scientists: PFAS is far more prevalent than they thought."