Survey probes dairy goals

Thursday, March 31, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

Is the goal of Dairy Famers of Ontario to always deliver high quality milk to processors the right one for it to maintain?

That was one of the questions farmers were asked as part of a 12-question survey handed out during last week’s six spring regional meetings across Ontario. Farmers were asked for comments during a discussion on financial rewards and deterrents in meeting raw milk quality goals.

Trying to initiate a general discussion rather than obtaining specific suggestions on any potential new milk quality programs was the goal of the survey, it says in the accompanying discussion paper.

Bill Mitchell, Dairy Farmers assistant communications director, says there isn’t a specific problem or concern the organization is trying to address. There aren’t any plans now to change any milk quality programs.
 
Dairy Farmers is currently analyzing the survey. “There were discussions at all meetings on incentives versus deterrents and those sorts of things,” Mitchell says.

Among the suggestions floated in the discussion paper are:

*Should zero inhibitor violations be a provincial goal? If so what would it take to make this a reality?

*Should farmers producing milk in the SCC penalty range be ineligible for fall production incentives?

*Should farmers marketing bad quality milk be temporarily restricted from bidding for quota on the exchange?

*Should there be a bonus or incentive program to motivate producers with mid-range SCC test results to make on-farm management changes?

Meeting switch planned

This year’s spring regional meetings were compressed into six instead of one in each region in preparation for shifting the policy conference, normally held in the fall, to the spring. Regional meetings will move to the fall.

Mitchell says this way the policy conference can take place just before the supply managed marketing organization starts its annual planning process. The process begins in April. The change is also more convenient for farmers.

In October, Dairy Farmers will hold one-day regional meetings similar to what it normally holds in the spring. In March 2012 the three-day policy conference will be held.

The meetings this year were more interactive with round table discussions on three to four major topics. Early feedback from farmers obtained through an on-line web poll indicates they approve, Mitchell says.

Regulatory changes anticipated

In other news, Dairy Farmers is waiting for regulatory changes to be approved by the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission that would require bulk tank milk graders to reject milk at the farm that’s above 9.9 degrees Celsius. The change came about after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency required all milk plants using Hazardous Analysis Critical Control Point, a system that’s designed to prevent food safety problems, to reject loads above six degrees Celsius. That has occurred since August 2010.

George MacNaughton, production division director, says less than six loads a year would be rejected for being above 9.9 degrees Celsius. “Most farmers, if they’ve got a problem with their tank and they’ve got a failure, they dump the milk and start over.”

Penalties introduced

As for the Canadian Quality Milk (CQM) program, the commission has given Dairy Farmers the authority to implement penalty regulations. The board approved the penalties in principle.

Farmers who haven’t yet registered for the program will get a letter likely by mid-month telling them of their scheduled CQM validation month. Farmers need to pass the validation in their scheduled month or they’ll be assessed a penalty of $2 a hectolitre on all milk shipped during the month. The penalty stays at $2 a hectolitre for the first three months of non compliance and then increases by $2 a hectolitre in every quarter year period. The maximum amount of penalty that can be applied in any 12-month rolling period is 10 per cent of the previous year’s income, MacNaughton says.

No decision on elementary school milk program

During its provincial pre-budget submission, Dairy Farmers asked the government to make it mandatory for all schools to offer the elementary school milk program starting this fall. Mitchell says this wasn’t identified as a specific spending item in the provincial government’s March 29 budget. But Dairy Farmers is still hopeful the government will go ahead with their proposal some time between now and the end of the school year. Currently 70 per cent of schools participate in the program. BF