J.D. Potié
PONTIAC Aug. 16, 2019
On Aug. 16, Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that the federal government will be allocating $1.75 billion to . . .
over 11,000 Canadian dairy farmers over the next eight years.
From the total amount, $345 million will be distributed in the first year via direct deposits and aiding dairy farmers depending on the number of cows they have. Owners of average sized farms, being around 80 cows, should receive a direct payment of $28,000 in the first year.
Shawville based dairy farmer Robbie Beck said that the compensation program will be beneficial to his operation as he plans to use the funds to subsidize upgrades to his facility to increase efficiency and overall production.
“I think it’s actually going to be useful,” he said. “It’s going to be important for improving efficiency however possible to become more competitive. In respect to the way we make milk and respect to other countries it’s important that we keep up our competitiveness that way.”
But at the same time, he’s worried about the potential negative repercussions the agreement could have on Canadian dairy markets in the future.
He referred to the compensation program as a great “Plan B” and a positive fulfillment of the government’s promise to back up Canadian dairy farmers. However, he claimed that it wasn’t the result he and other dairy farmers at the bargaining table hoped for. What they wanted was more security for the overall state of the dairy markets.
“The ideal outcome of trade negotiations at the time would have been not to negotiate any of the Canadian Dairy Markets. Then, there wouldn’t be any need for these payouts.
“During trade negotiations, we weren’t lobbying for any kind of compensation,” he added. “We were lobbying for market protection and really that’s our first act. Our “Plan A” is to protect the market that we’ve developed in Canada and to protect the borders from outside milk that’s from other countries.”
While he’s grateful that the government is making efforts to recognize the importance of dairy farmers for the national economy, he’s concerned about the precedent it might set for future negotiations.
“In future trade talks, maybe this will be a model used again in the future where a portion of our market may be traded away with this kind of a compensation program where you can make up for the loss and that’s not really want.”
Beck explained that the program was designed to compensate nearly eight per cent of Canadian dairy markets and he worries that the government might be using the program to make up for the dairy industry’s future financial woes.
“Next time there’s a trade negotiation, I would think it makes it slightly easier to make those concessions at the trade negotiation table.”
The declaration comes after the implementation of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Along with a $250 million investment program benefitting over 3,000 Canadian dairy producers, the total amount of money granted by the government reaches up to $2 Billion in government funds.
All payments will be administered by the Canadian Dairy Commission and the government will continuously work alongside the Dairy Farmers of Canada in order to pin-point future terms and conditions.
Pontiac MP Will Amos believes the grant symbolizes the importance of the dairy industry in the eyes of the federal government by protecting the supply management system and helping out farmers financially.
“They’re getting fair and full compensation in a matter that they have designed,” he said.
To maintain a strong agricultural sector, it’s important for the government to stand by Canadian farmers who specialize in exporting products, Amos said.
“We need to support our dairy farmers and drink Canadian milk,” he said.
To register for the payments, farmers are advised to get in touch with the Canadian Dairy Commission to fill out a form, Amos said.
