Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has allocated up to $89 million (CAN€61 million) to 49 projects through the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund. This funding will assist processors in supply-managed sectors such as cow milk and chicken egg/meat production in mitigating the effects of recent international trade agreements. Purchases of equipment could include milk pasteurizers, ultrafiltration systems, and new robotic packaging systems. More automation will help to address labour shortages in Canada’s dairy industry, which have been exacerbated by long working hours and associated overtime costs.
Over 20 dairy processors in Canada, including Gay Lea, Lactalis, and Saputo, will receive up to $3.3 million (€2.3 million) in new automated cheese processing and packaging equipment under the new funding scheme. Ontario’s dairy processing sector received $8 million in January to assist processors in modernizing their operations to improve efficiency and food safety. The funding is intended for new technologies that improve production efficiency, but cost-sharing assistance can be used to cover the purchase of new or refurbished equipment as well as associated costs such as training.
Ontario has 171 licensed dairy processors for cows and goats, as well as sheep and buffalo. The province has a high demand for water buffalo milk mozzarella cheese because it is where the majority of immigrants settle, and many come from cultures where buffalo dairy products are common. Ontario has the largest goat dairy farming population of any Canadian province, with a nearly 14% increase in the last 8 years.
