Dairy Farmers of Canada reap benefits of support package

PHOTO: Holstein dairy cows/Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture

OTTAWA – The announcement of a federal support package on May 5 for the agricultural sector will provide relief for dairy farmers amid COVID-19, according to Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC).

The package includes increased borrowing capacity for the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), and additional funding under the AgriRecovery Framework for a set-aside program, which would include dairy cull cows.

“Never have we seen such fluctuation in demand for milk from one week to another, and despite the best efforts to manage production to align with consumer needs, bottlenecks resulted in milk having to be disposed at the farm, something no dairy farmer wants to see,” said Pierre Lampron, president of Dairy Farmers of Canada in a prepared statement. “Dairy Farmers of Canada welcome the measures announced today by the federal government, which will help offset the impacts of bottlenecks in the supply chain that have prevented dairy from getting from the farm to the store shelf.”

Related: Why Canadian dairy farmers are dumping milk amid COVID-19 demand changes

The situation was compounded by a decrease in business in the hotels, restaurants and institutions sector (HRI sector), which resulted in a reduced requirement for dairy. The announcement includes a commitment by the government to work with opposition parties to increase the Canadian Dairy Commission’s capacity to store dairy products until the market rebounds.

Dairy Farmers of Canada also welcomed the announcement of a surplus food purchase program.

“Solidarity with our communities is a value that is near and dear to dairy farmers, which is why we have committed more than $10 million dollars in dairy products to food banks across the county to support Canadians in need,” said Lampron.