DECEMBER 2016 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


CETA undermines the Canadian dairy industry Slicing up the dairy industry as trade incentives set a bad precedent for agriculture


by TREVOR HARGREAVES


As I write this column, federal minister of agriculture Lawrence MacAulay has just


Viewpoint TREVOR HARGREAVES


announced a government investment of $250 million over five years to help update equipment on Canadian dairy farms, and an additional $100 million over four years to assist with updating Canada’s aging dairy processing infrastructure.


This funding comes as a result of the recent signing by Prime Minister Trudeau of CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade


Agreement. Once ratified, the deal will usher in tariff-free imports of a wide range of goods between Canada and numerous European countries.


For many sectors, this will be a positive. For the Canadian dairy industry, however – and specifically Canadian cheese-crafters – it’s a decided negative. As part of the deal, an additional 17,700 tonnes of foreign fine cheese will now be entering the Canadian market yearly. As Dairy Farmers of Canada noted in a recent press release, this is equivalent to the entire yearly production of the province of Nova Scotia and it will cost Canadian dairy farmers up to $116 million a year in perpetual lost revenues. This equates to a market loss of about 2%.


Critics of the Canadian dairy industry will view our lukewarm response to the recently announced funding with skepticism. They often view Canadian dairy to be a coddled industry, with what they consider to be unfairly protective measures due to our economic structure of supply-managed production. But what many people fail to realize is that this is an industry that has built itself up via internal investment. Across the border, the US Farm Bill offsets a good amount of the cost of production for many dairy farmers. In Canada, by contrast, our structure is self- supporting. The stability of supply management has fostered ongoing


reinvestment amidst multiple


generations of Canadian dairy farmers. The controlled aspects of the industry have fostered slow but extremely stable growth. Farmer dollars have built this industry up. Now, factor this against the political climate of recent years. First, dairy farmers have


had to accept the impending market losses of CETA. This was soon paired with an intensive negotiation period for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In the end, that deal granted an additional market loss of 3.24% should TPP move forward to implementation.


These slices of the industry given away as part of trade agreements are worth vast amounts of money and – to some degree – our industry falls victim to foreign interests amidst these trade


negotiations. Thankfully, with the impending Trump administration soon occupying the White House,


NAOMI MCGEACHY


as per his outward protectionist rhetoric, TPP appears to be quite likely dead in the water.


Another common criticism by free-trade devotees critical of supply management is that the Canadian dairy industry doesn’t focus sufficiently on export markets. In regards to fluid milk, we operate as a domestic-focused market that provides high quality, locally supplied product to local consumers. When you drink milk, you are supporting your surrounding provincial communities and local economy.


A quick glance at the current global dairy market and the foresight of our structure is clear. In England, their dairy industry is in literal free-fall with record numbers of farm bankruptcies as milk ships for less than the cost of production. This is a common issue around the world right now due to price volatility, a global pricing glut and significant issues of oversupply.


In the US, the situation is


equally challenging in certain regions. With funding under the US Farm Bill ever diminishing and a downward spiral of global prices in recent years, their outlook is bleak. Yet these are the very markets our critics feel we should be pushing to enter. Moving forward, the


underlying focus for Canadian dairy – as it should be in any well-run industry – is sustainability. Canadian dairy


www.OkLandBuyers.ca


farmers want this industry to endure and prosper for generations to come. This is represented in the high quality standards adhered to in the dairy farming practices in this country. So, I urge you, have a glass of milk right now. Drink your milk. Drink Canadian.


Trevor Hargreaves is the director of producer relations and communications for the BC Dairy Association.


5


6741 PAXTON VALLEY RD, FALKLAND


155 acres w/1999, 3 bed/2 bath modular home. Large open fields producing grain, hay and pasture. Excellent sun exposure in wide valley. Perimeter fenced with some cross fencing. Very good drilled well for domestic and stock watering use. Several out- buildings incl 32'x40' hay cover. Very pretty property with excellent views 15 minutes out of Falkland. MLS®10124803 $675,000


PAT DUGGAN Farm | Ranch | Residential


Bus: 250/545-5371 (24 hr) Cell: 250/308-0938 email: patduggan@royallepage.ca “Farmers helping farmers with their real estate needs”


Downtown Realty 4007 - 32nd Street, Vernon, BC V1T 5P2


Toll Free: 1-800-434-9122 www.royallegpage.ca


From everyone at Country Life in BC, may the spirit of the holiday season be yours now & in the new year!


columnists


Bob Collins Margaret Evans Laura Rance


Jo Sleigh Liz Twan Linda Wegner


contributors


Emily Bulmer Lindsay Chung Lyonel Doherty


Cam Fortems Terry Fries Philip Gordon


Gina Haambuckers Franya Jedwab Tamara Leigh


Naomi McGeachy Sean McIntyre Susan McIver


Kathy Michaels Ronda Payne Jennifer Smith


Judie Steeves Joan Trask Tom Walker


Jonny Wakefield Chris Yates graphics Tina Rezansoff


CATHY GLOVER publisher & editor


DAVID SCHMIDT associate editor


PETER MITHAM contributing editor


TAMARA LEIGH contributing editor


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48