DECEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC FIRB’s quota review is taking too long


Dairy producers frustrated by review board’s delay they say is holding them “hostage” assessment” on all quota transfers. Already used in the chicken industry, this would come out of the overall provincial quota allocation rather than be applied against individual sales. With quota prices hitting an all-time high this spring and facing these huge assessments, quota sales and purchases have hit a wall. The last time the BCMMB ran a quota exchange was June 7. At that time, the price was


by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – BC milk


producers are clearly frustrated by the length of time it is taking the Farm Industry Review Board to complete its Quota Transfer Assessment Review. That frustration boiled over at the Mainland Milk Producers fall meeting in Abbotsford, October 23.


FIRB launched the QTAR in


November 2016, asking all five supply-managed boards to review their quota transfer and new entrant policies and recommend possible changes. Although all five boards submitted their recommendations by FIRB’s June 30 deadline, they are still waiting for a final response from FIRB. BC Milk Marketing Board chair Ben Janzen told producers the board has met with FIRB since submitting its report and has made several changes to its recommendations based on those discussions. However, he insisted the board’s goal has not changed. “Our ultimate goal is to get rid of 10/10/10 and LIFO,” he said, insisting “that’s what’s stifling our industry.” Imposed on the BCMMB by


FIRB over a decade ago, LIFO stands for Last-In, First-Out, meaning the most recently issued quota is deemed to be the first sold. That’s when 10/10/10 kicks in. Under that rule, any quota sold within a year of being issued is assessed at 100%, meaning it all reverts back to the board. The assessment is reduced by 10% per year until year 10 and thereafter when it is subject to a 10% assessment. Since producers have


received quota increases of close to 20% in the last few years, producers wishing to sell part of their quota to “right-size” their operations face huge assessments. Instead of LIFO and 10/10/10, BCMMB has proposed a 5% “global


$42,000/kg of butterfat. Although the price has


“As farmers, when we have a problem we fix it ... I’d like to see things done a lot quicker.”


dropped to $39,500/kg and rules have been changed to allow an exchange to run when either buyers or sellers


can be cleared, as of November 13, no further exchange had been run. “We are being held hostage by FIRB,” one producer said at the


MMP meeting, reflecting the sentiments of most producers in the well-attended meeting. “As farmers, when we have


Although Les did not


address milk producers, the following evening he promised turkey growers FIRB would release its QTAR decision by the end of the year, adding all five supply- managed agencies would receive the decisions at the same time.


Dairy farming under the microscope Sales are up but producers need to be mindful of consumer perception


by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – BC is


bucking the trend in fluid milk sales, BC Dairy Association president David Taylor told Mainland Milk Producers at their fall meeting in Abbotsford, October 23. “We had a 2.2% increase in fluid milk sales in the past 12 months,” Taylor reported, saying BC is the only province to experience an increase. “The national average is negative 1.5%.”


BC is running its own fluid milk marketing plan after the rest of the provinces in the Western Milk Pool opted to pool their marketing dollars with the P-5 (Ontario-East). However, that program will soon change as Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) has decided to stop funding national marketing programs as of January 1. BC DFC director David Janssens notes DFO now contributes 41% of DFC’s industrial milk levies and 59% of the P-5 fluid milk levies so its decision will remove almost $24 million from its industrial marketing program and about $16.5 million from fluid marketing. Janssens told producers DFC is also lobbying hard to make Canada’s proposed new Food Guide more dairy-


www.canadianorganicfeeds.com


FOR BAGGED or BULK ORDERS


Darren Jansen Owner 604.794.3701


organicfeeds@gmail.com Certified by Pro-Cert Organic Systems Ltd.


R ROLLINS “Serving British Columbia proudly since 1946”


Machinery Limited


AG CENTRE: Chilliwack 44724 Yale Road West Chilliwack, BC V2R 4H3 604-792-1301


HEAD OFFICE: Langley 21869 - 56th Avenue Langley, BC V2Y 2M9 Toll Free 1-800-665-9060


Toll Free 1-800-242-9737 www.rollinsmachinery.com


friendly. The first revision to the guide in over a decade, the new guide will promote more plant-based proteins and put greater emphasis on environmental sustainability and animal welfare. He calls dairy a “casualty” of


new regulations to put warnings on products with high salt, high sugar or high saturated fat content. “This could have


unintended consequences for dairy,” he said, noting cheese is high in salt but is “better” than many processed foods with a lower salt content. “We are pushing for a


greater emphasis on nutrient- dense foods like cheese,” he said.


Are you READY


forWINTER Increased consumer food


and agriculture activism is not just affecting the new food guide. It is affecting every aspect of production, one reason DFC launched its ProAction Initiative a few years ago. Although ProAction only becomes mandatory January 1, Taylor notes BC producers already embrace it. “Less than 10 producers are not on the program,” he stated.


Holstein Canada has


started doing animal care assessments, a key component of ProAction. The assessments look at body condition scores, neck, knee and hock injuries and lameness.


“If you’re in the ‘red zone,’


you need a corrective action plan,” Taylor told producers. Consumers’ eyes are not only on how animals are cared for but how farmers manage their entire farm. As a result, MMP president Holger Schwichtenberg reminded farmers not to spread manure in winter, stressing “one person can wreck it for the whole industry.” New BC Agriculture Council


director of communications and public engagement Danielle Synotte agreed. “If I were a livestock


producer, I would have a nutrient management plan and document everything I do,” she told producers.


a problem, we fix it,” he said, telling FIRB chair John Les, who was in the room, “I’d like to see things done a lot quicker.”


11


for WINTER feeding?


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