Washington ? The Agriculture Department said Thursday it was releasing 200 million pounds of nonfat dry milk in storage to feeding programs for low-income families, a move also designed to help dairy farmers.

Dairy farmers praised the decision, which could create more of a market for their products if the government decides to refill its milk inventories, thus helping maintain higher prices for dairy products.

In announcing the decision, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the goal was to increase support for low-income families and help dairy farmers dealing with high feed costs and low dairy prices.