Why I Think Dairy Supply Management is Important
Jean L Clavelle
Let me begin by saying that this is an incredibly complex issue. To be truthful I do not fully understand how supply management impacts international trade or even really the nuts and bolts of the supply manager system itself so I will not discuss that here (Dairy Farmers of Canada have produced some fantastic background information http://www.dairyfarmers.ca/content/download/1164/13161/version/2/file/Economic-Rationale2011_EN.pdf on the economics of supply management if you would like to know more). Despite my ignorance, I do think dairy supply management is incredibly important to dairy producers and Canadian consumers. And I want to attempt an explanation of why from the perspective of a consumer not as someone with a dairy background (which I do not have).
Producers are paid a fair price
Many have critiqued this system but it seems they have oversimplified and under complicated the issue to the extreme. It had been said that supply management isn’t good for the producer or for the consumer. But I think ‘they’ are wrong.
So what is supply management? Supply management controls the volume of milk produced on a provincial and annual basis. Provincial boards manage the milk supply to coincide with demand for their products. By effectively controlling production, expensive and costly surpluses are avoided. A price is then set by a federally managed board based on cost of production, consumer price index and multiple other factors. Not just anyone can supply milk either, dairy producers purchase quota essentially for the right to sell milk. Without quota no one can legally sell milk.
So why do I think it’s important? Well, the objective of supply management is two fold 1. to provide Canadian consumers with an adequate supply of the product at reasonable prices and 2. to provide efficient producers with fair returns. And that is the crux of my argument. Under this system producers are paid a fair price.
Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 25th, 2014 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Animal care,Consumers,Dairy cattle,Regulations,Uncategorized
Tags :: animal care, Canada, dairy cattle, supply management