When John Core, a Wyoming, Ont., dairy farmer, was president of Dairy Farmers of Canada, he looked forward to the annual DFC conference as a time to lead the industry charge against poor government decisions and policy.
These days, as chair of the Canadian Dairy Commission, the DFC January conference is less something to look forward to and more something to get through.
It is an annual rite of passage for the dairy farmer lobby to use the convention to complain about CDC price setting. This year was no exception.
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Effective Feb. 1, the federally appointed CDC increased the support price for industrial milk by 3.55 percent, or .022 cents per litre. The increase is part of a CDC commitment to increase support prices to a level that covers the costs of at least half of dairy farmers by 2006.
But the DFC argues that the 2004 increase was too little because it did not take into account the income lost by dairy farmers because of BSE and the sector’s inability to export older cull cows or breeding heifers.
“The Canadian Dairy Commission missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help producers while showing their commitment to uphold adequate producer prices,” DFC president Jean Grégoire told the convention Feb. 3. “One may rightfully wonder to what extent this major pillar of our management system is taken seriously by our government bodies.”
Many dairy farmers say the sale of cull cows and breeding stock, which typically has been their profit margin, is now lost.
Core defended the price setting, which technically sets the price at which the CDC will buy excess butter (up 3.1 percent this year) and skim milk powder (up 3.8 percent) but it influences not just industrial milk prices but the prices set by provincial milk boards for table milk.
He said it moves the pricing formula almost half way to closing the gap between production costs of the median dairy farm and the price that the farmer receives.
“I think the price fulfils our commitment to moving toward covering more costs,” he said.
However, pricing increases to make up for income lost because of BSE will not come until next February because income is only being collected this summer, said Core. Dairy prices are set once a year.
One delegate complained that his BSE losses started in 2003 but he will not receive the first price compensation until 2005. Several others said the CDC should return to its former practice of announcing February and August price adjustments.
“We can’t wait until February,” said one farmer in the audience.
Core made no commitment.
Meanwhile, a Quebec delegate let the cat out of the bag when he said publicly that DFC has been lobbying to have Grégoire join former president Core on the CDC.
The delegate asked agriculture minister Bob Speller when he plans to fill a vacancy on the commission, presumably with Grégoire.
Speller said during his six weeks as minister he has not had time to deal with appointments “but I’ll get to it soon.”
The Consumers Association of Canada complains that consumer interests are not represented on the commission. During the past year, it has included Core as chair, former DFC president Louis Balcaen from Manitoba as vice-chair and former processor Carl Harrison.
