A government press release says that Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau spoke on a dairy farm in the Eastern Townships to reaffirm the government’s promise to pay supply-managed sectors for the effects of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Direct payments and investment programmes will give dairy, poultry, and egg producers and processors more than $1.7 billion.
This money from the government will help producers and processors of dairy, poultry, and eggs make important investments and improve their businesses so they can be even more competitive and last longer.
Even though dairy farmers already know how much they will get next year from the fourth compensation payment for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the government plans to give them up to $1.2 billion more over six years through the Dairy Direct Payment Program to make up for the effects of CUSMA.
From 2024 to 2029, the owner of a farm with 80 milking cows could get about $106,000 in six payments each year, based on a decreasing scale. With these funds, producers will have the freedom to invest according to their own needs.
Starting in 2023, the government plans to put up to $300 million into a new programme to support innovation and investment in large-scale projects that add value to solids-non-fat, a by-product of processing milk. During the development of programme parameters, the government will talk with industry stakeholders a lot.
“The 2,800 chicken farmers in Canada are proud to take care of our land and provide healthy, high-quality food for Canadians. When more money is put into our industry today, it will help farmers improve the long-term efficiency and sustainability of their farms and keep feeding Canadians “Pierre Lampron, who is in charge of Dairy Farmers of Canada, said this.
Under the Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program, the Canadian government plans to give up to an extra $112 million to people who raise poultry and eggs. Producers will get payments based on how many quotas they own, which will help them improve their farm businesses. With this money, the total pay for this sector will reach $803 million.
Lastly, the federal government plans to put up to $105 million into the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund. This money will be used to help dairy, poultry, and egg processing plants invest in new equipment and automation technologies to make them more productive or efficient. This means that processors have now spent a total of $497,5 million.
These programmes will help the supply-managed sectors be more open to new ideas and grow. With this announcement, the Canadian government keeps its promise to fully and fairly compensate producers and processors who have lost market share because of CETA, CPTPP, and CUSMA. Up to $4.8 billion will be paid out in compensation.
Tim Klompmaker, chair of the Chicken Farmers of Canada, said, “Our farmers are proud to offer Canadians high-quality eggs that are made here in Canada. This helps support rural jobs and our economy.” “The measures outlined in today’s announcement give us a way to figure out how CUSMA will affect our industry. They also help all Canadians as egg farmers continue to use green technology, improve their farms, and grow their industry. More than 1,200 egg farmers in Canada are committed to keeping our strong food system going, both now and in the future.”
“Hatching egg producers all over the country have lost money because of recent trade deals,” said Roger Pelissero, chair of the Egg Farmers of Canada. “We are glad to see that the Fall Economic Statement has talked about a continuing commitment to Canadian poultry and egg farmers on programmes to make up for the effects of the CUSMA agreement.” “This money will help our farmers invest again to make our sector stronger and more stable, which is good for all Canadians.”
