Milk in Canada is getting more expensive to buy and more expensive for cheesemakers and others in the dairy industry. Why is this a concern? Food security is a green issue.
Currently, Canada does not have a national framework to deal with the dairy industry. Unlike the U.S., Canada has a quota system which used to work fine until the industry started to squeeze out a lot of small processors. While the U.S. ensures a free market approach for its dairy farmers, there are several ways in which they are subsidized in case they cannot sell all the milk they produce.
Saputo has been using imported dairy solids to make cheese for more than 30 years. Using modified milk helped lower production costs which enabled them to have 35% of the market share at the expense of locally run cheese makers. As an example, Armstrong Cheese used to be made in Armstrong, BC employing over 70 people and relying on milk from local dairy farms. Saputo bought them out and closed down the plant, but you can still buy something called “Armstrong Cheese.” This scenario is being played out all across the country.
With fewer places to sell their milk and the prices for milk beyond their control, dairy farmers face an uncertain future now that the WTO has ruled that the quota system constitutes an export subsidy for dairy products. This ruling resulted in the reduction of the Canadian export program. Claiming that milk is priced too high, companies like Kraft, Saputo and Parmalat continue to pressure for more imports of blends in the case of butter oils or caseins reducing the need for Canadian milk.
If you want to know more about what’s going to happen to our supply of food, visit www.farmsandfood.ca Provincial milk prices are to be re-calculated February 1, 2010.
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Goodbye to Canadian Milk Producers | Go Green http://bit.ly/7qpf1B #dairy #agriculture