U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement that it will purchase $20 million of cheese off the domestic dairy market is a good first step, but more has to be done as dairy producers struggle with declining milk prices.

The USDA’s action follows a bipartisan, bicameral letter Courtney, D-2nd District, led last month asking USDA to take action.

In April, Courtney introduced bipartisan legislation to use regional margin calculations rather than national averages in computing prices. Connecticut margins have typically been narrower than the national average used by USDA, which puts farmers in the region at a disadvantage.