2013 a key year for Canada's dairy industry say DFO officials

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

The current year is critical for the Canadian dairy industry, say top officials at Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

Peter Gould, general manager and CEO, says he was with DFO when Canada negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s and he has “never had the same concerns that I do about the next year.”

One thing the industry continues to work on is a decision-making process overhaul at the national level. Board chair Bill Emmott says Canada’s milk supply management system needs to end up with a more effective national marketing system.

Emmott was reelected as DFO chair at a board meeting Thursday after the 1.5-day annual meeting wrapped up in Toronto.  He has served as chair since 2009 and represents dairy farmers in Brant, Haldimand, Halton, Niagara, Norfolk and Wentworth.

Ron Versteeg, who has served on the board since 2005, was elected first vice chair, while Ralph Dietrich was elected second vice chair. He represents Bruce and Grey dairy farmers and has served on the board since 2011. Versteeg represents farmers in Glengarry, Prescott, Russell and Cumberland Township in Ottawa-Carleton.   

Like Emmott, Gould touched on the overhaul of national decision-making in his address. There is a national strategic planning session in Ottawa next week, and “that could be the beginning of something critically important,” he said.

Dairy farmers and their organizations are also working to implement a plan to supply milk on demand for yogurt and selected cheeses and that “could be transformational to the industry,” Gould notes, adding there needs to be a collective recognition that for orderly marketing to function the future depends on “getting the right milk to the right plant at the right time.”

The industry has also taken a giant step and developed a mechanism to share markets nationally “and we have to make that work,” he says.

Gould says the industry must also develop the right pricing model for skim milk solids.

About the trade negotiations Canada is currently negotiating with Europe and with the Trans Pacific Partnership, Gould says the Canada-Europe one is critical. Canada will maintain its position ‘to support the integrity of orderly marketing in Canada and that outcome will set the tone for future negotiations,” he predicts. BF