Ties between western Canadian provincial milk and dairy organizations are set to get tighter after a new governance model for working together under the Western Milk Pool (WMP) received unanimous approval.
Alberta Milk, SaskMilk, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba along with British Columbia’s two producer organizations, B.C. Milk and B.C. Dairy all agreed to the partnership that will see areas of common concern addressed through the WMP through a new governance model.
WMP chair Henry Holtmann said the new governance model will allow for better co-ordination between dairy organizations.
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“We really want to take away the provincial boundaries and work as a region,” said Holtmann. “It’s a true transformation to work from five associated bodies to working as one as a united group.”
However, quotas for the supply-managed commodity will still be managed under the provincial bodies.
The new governance model will be seen on the operational side of the WMP, said Holtmann, which will include harmonizing internal structures of the industry in Western Canada.
One of the most noted examples of that will be in transportation.
“Instead of four (provincial) offices doing co-ordination for transportation, we’ll be doing it all from a single desk,” said Holtmann. “The value will be trickle down right to the farmer and reduce costs.”
He also highlighted the Alberta-based Dairy Innovation West facility, which de-waters to concentrate dairy products, which will reduce volumes to be transported to processors by 50 percent.
“We can even reduce that more through ultra-filtration down to a quarter of the trucks,” he said. “It’s a really great story of us working together and supporting where the milk needs to be processed and where it’s produced and driving down transportation costs for farmers.”
Such co-ordination in transportation will also have the bonus of WMP reaching greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.
“The other side of it is farmers like the idea that they are being treated equally though the harmonization of policies from one region to the other,” Holtmann added.
WMP’s drive to work more closely together is following a trend of agricultural producer organizations that have seen several intra-provincial grower groups amalgamate in recent years.
Holtmann said one of the issues driving such moves – including with WMP – is efficiency in operations.
“You have value given back to the farmers for the money they spend for the organizational structure,” he said. “You also get one direction from organizations as far as decision making.”
Holtmann said embracing change is something that should be done for any organization and added WMP is doing that in a transparent manner to ensure the best for dairy producers.
“It is a must to survive what is going on around us,” he said. “We’ve lived through the last three years of incredible upheaval and change.”
It’s part of what Holtmann called a drive towards excellence in the dairy industry.
“We really believe having a united voice. Clearly defining the organizational structure is going to support a stronger, vibrant dairy industry,” he said.
The finalized WMP governance structure is expected to be completed by the spring of 2023.
