- Study finds Canadian diary farmers have been forced to dump $14.9 billion worth of raw milk
- Canadian Dairy Commission refutes the study, fails to provide data
- Comes after Dairy Farmer filmed himself dumping milk to comply with government quotas
A new study published in Ecological Economics reveals that Canadian dairy farmers have been forced to dump an estimated 6.8 to 10 billion liters of raw milk between 2012 and 2021, resulting in a staggering waste valued at $14.9 billion CAD.
The issue stems from the country’s supply management system, which is intended to stabilize the dairy market but instead leads to surplus production.
Researchers found that the wasted milk is equivalent to supplying 4.2 million Canadians.
The Canadian Dairy Commission has refuted the study’s findings, insisting that 99.9% of produced milk went to market over the past year, albeit without providing their data.
The study comes one year after an Ontario farmer filmed himself dumping 30 thousand litres of milk to comply with government quotas.
“Right now we’re over our quota. It’s regulated by the government and by the [Dairy Farmers of Ontario],” said Jerry Huigen from Huigen Bros farm.
“Only one country in the world — in Canada, not in the United States, not in Europe — do they dump when they are over, but we’re not supposed to talk about it,” he added.
Huigen said the 30 thousand litres he needed to dump was just from one month of supply. He’d already reached his quota – a quota he needed to purchase from the government.
In 2022, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said that if elected Prime Minister, he wouldn’t touch the $23 billion industry.
