Since the U.S. opened the NAFTA talks, and even before that, U.S. Dairy Export Council President Tom Vilsack has been pushing hard for more dairy access in the Canadian market. He has stressed the need for increased competition in North America, saying the consumer will ultimately win. I've heard him speak several times and the... Read More
Category: Supply Management
American requests for changes to Canada's supply management system for dairy and poultry are a "non-starter," said Canada's agriculture minister on Monday. U.S. negotiators introduced an initial dairy proposal on Friday, which calls for increased transparency and changes to Canada's milk class system, including the elimination of the new class 7 that has taken away... Read More
The U.S. introduced its much-anticipated proposal regarding dairy during NAFTA negotiations on Friday, although it did not contain an explicit request for a percentage increase in market access into Canada. The American proposal was focused on changing Canada's milk class system and increasing transparency in supply management. The proposal would reverse recent changes to Canada's... Read More
While margins have been "okay" for most of 2017 thanks to lower feed costs, large milk supplies continue to weigh on U.S. dairy prices and the outlook for the dairy market. "We're so full in terms of capacity for processing, everybody's looking at where export markets are going to go and how that's going to... Read More
Dairy and supply management have yet to be formally discussed in the renegotiation of NAFTA, with the third round of talks set to wrap up on Wednesday. Canada's chief negotiator, Steve Verheul, indicated over the weekend that he did not expect the U.S. to table any dairy text in Ottawa. That was still the case... Read More
What’s the value of public opinion? That’s a question I find myself asking more often these days. In a democracy, public opinion should matter and politicians and policy makers should have a strong understanding of the people’s will when making public policy. But should they give the people what they want? Today we have no... Read More
Canada has its sacred cow with milk. That's well known, but what about the U.S. point of view? Why's the American dairy industry so set on at least cracking the pillars of Canada's dairy supply management? The U.S. dairy market is over supplied, and boosting export demand is a solution. It's very similar to how... Read More
With the two week countdown on ahead of NAFTA negotiations, the Canadian government is bolstering its team in Washington and establishing a council to provide advice to Canadian negotiators. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Wednesday that she's sending Canada's chief negotiator in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations to Washington as a deputy ambassador. Kirsten Hillman,... Read More
Dairy Farmers of Canada's new president certainly has his work cut out for him. Pierre Lampron, a 51-year-old organic dairy producer from St. Boniface, Quebec, was elected at DFC's annual general meeting in Edmonton on Wednesday, replacing Wally Smith who served his maximum three terms dating back to July 2011. Lampron took some time to... Read More
It's no surprise that Canada's dairy supply management was discussed in the first face-to-face meeting between Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and new U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. However, some of Perdue's comments on supply management after the meeting on Monday are surprising or noteworthy with many on the U.S. side calling for the system... Read More