A dairy farmer from Southern Ontario, Canada has spoken out about how the Canadian government makes farms dump thousands of liters of fresh milk because they have gone over the quota.
In a video shared on TikTok by Travis Huigen and widely shared by Bushels Per Acre on Twitter, Canadian dairy farmer Jerry Human expresses his outrage at the Canadian government and the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) for wasting hundreds of liters of fresh milk despite inflation.
“Right now, during the winter months, you milk quite a bit more milk because the feed is very consistent. And if you do a good job, you will produce quite a bit of milk. But right now, we’re over our quota, and it’s regulated by the government, and [implemented] by the DFO,” said Human.
“Look at this milk running away. It’s the end of the month [and] I dump 30,000 liters of milk and it breaks my heart. This year Canadian milk is $7 a liter.”
“When I go for my haircut, people say, wow, $7 Jerry for a little bit of milk. I say, well, you have to go higher up because we have no say anymore as a dairy farmer on our own farm, because they make us dump it, and no matter how we stand up. So this time, I’m going public,” Jerry continued.
One user commented, “This is a great example on how they control food supplies to the benefit of the government and corporations at the cost to the people. They do not care about you what so ever. Great example of how the government isn’t for the people and is doing more harm than good. Pure evil.”
A major winter storm in Ontario that began on December 23, caused highways to shut down, preventing truckers from picking up milk.
“Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) issued a statement on Dec. 24, notifying farmers of dangerous road conditions and asking them to dispose of milk that wouldn’t be able to be picked up by drivers,” CBC reported.
Watch the video below:
Canada has a national supply management system for the poultry, egg, dairy, and turkey industries.
“National marketing plans establish the framework for the operation of the systems. These systems are controlled by national bodies and by provincial commodity marketing boards that have been delegated powers by federal and provincial governments,” according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MOFRA).
Provincial commodity marketing boards, in turn, are responsible for allocating production among farmers, who undertake to produce within their allotted quota.
“The amount of each commodity that is produced and marketed by producers is controlled through a quota system,” the agency said.
Milk production quotas are strictly enforced, and farmers are only paid for the milk they produce within those quotas. If a farmer produces more milk than their monthly quota allows, then they will not be compensated for the extra milk.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) is the marketing group for the largest sector of Ontario agriculture and is proudly owned and operated by Ontario’s dairy farm families. It represents approximately 4,000 Ontario dairy farms.
All raw milk produced in Ontario is purchased by DFO, then sold to processors, and the farmers are compensated for their efforts.
According to Reuters, “the United States on Tuesday said it was seeking a second trade dispute settlement panel over Canada’s dairy import quotas, accusing Canada of not meeting obligations to open its market to American producers. The move is the latest salvo in longstanding tensions between the trade partners over Canada’s protected dairy industry.”
“Canada has tightly controlled supplies of dairy, eggs and poultry since the 1970s, restricting how much farmers can produce and limiting imports through onerous tariffs,” the outlet added.
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