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Dairy farmers consider Canada’s model

A group of farmers are looking to Canada’s supply management system as a model to stabilize the milk supply in the U.S. despite it becoming one of the major trade disputes in the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations.

“The smaller dairy farmers have been disappearing at an alarming rate over the last four or five years.”

Michigan Farmers Union President Bob Thompson tells Brownfield all dairy farmers in the state have been invited to a series of meetings which will feature Canadian dairy farmers and how their supply management system works.

He says a similar Dairy Together series was hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union which found a number of farmers interested in adopting a similar system. “There was a large appetite by dairy farmers to have some sort of control over the marketing and processing of milk, and the supply management process that is being used successfully over the last 25 to 30 years in Canada.”

Dairy farmers in Canada produce slightly less milk then the state of Wisconsin with about 26 percent fewer cows.

The National Farmers Union has supported a supply management system at the state and national level and believes it would bring stability to a producer’s milk check. They and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture issued a joint statement Monday urging Canadian and U.S. officials to preserve trade relationships between the two countries.

The Canadian system has been widely criticized by U.S. dairy groups. The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council say Canada is creating trade barriers and flooding the world market with underpriced milk powder.

President Trump took to Twitter over the weekend to call out Canada’s dairy supply management system as one of the major hold ups in finalizing NAFTA.

AUDIO: Interview with Bob Thompson