Dairy farmer leaders across the country have embraced the proAction Initiative, its vision and 13 guiding principles.
The leaders have shown a commitment to develop and implement it in a 10-year timeframe.
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DFC will ask delegates to approve the details of the program and its implementation at each milestone.
The vision and guiding principles stem from comments heard during the consultations DFC held with provinces in 2012 and 2013. The vision states:
“Through proAction, Canadian dairy farmers collectively demonstrate responsible stewardship of their animals and the environment, sustainably producing high-quality, safe and nutritious food for consumers.”
Some of the principles include:
1. ProAction will be designed by farmers for farmers.
2. Striving for continuous improvement, proAction will provide reasonable time periods to allow farmers to meet the programs’ targets.
3. ProAction will improve the sustainability of Canadian dairy farms.
4. ProAction will be cost-efficient, user-friendly and valuable to farmers.
5. ProAction will use existing expertise to minimize the number of required on-farm visits.
6. ProAction will have the same timelines for all dairy farms in Canada.
We invite you to read all guiding principles in the dairyfarmers.ca news section.
You may wonder ‘Why even consider this?’
Dairy farmers can be very proud that we have a trusted brand “100% Canadian Milk.” To bring our brand to the next level, to make it a “treasured” brand, one that consumers overwhelmingly demand, the brand has to carry meaning that connects farmers and societal values.
It is currently successful as a seal of origin – it is found on products made from milk produced on Canadian farms. We know that consumers’ desire to know what’s in their food, where it comes from and how it’s produced is increasing. We know Canadians care about food safety, animals and the environment. And farmers also care.
We don’t expect every consumer to understand everything we do for our animals and the environment, or that unsustainable practices do not benefit farmers.
We often come across people who don’t believe us when we tell them about the importance of the environment to our farms and livelihoods, and others who want to believe but are also exposed to a lot of misinformation about agriculture.
Can an independent process to validate farms add credibility to our individual words and explanations? Yes. It can provide the assurance wanted by shoppers who don’t always have access to farmers.
When they notice the farmers’ commitment, choosing our products or brand in the store becomes an easier choice to make.
That is our value proposition for Canadians: A good, safe, nutritious product which is produced responsibly for animals and for the environment by farmers who continue to bring benefits to thousands of communities across the country.
Run for farmers by farmers, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is the national policy organization representing Canada’s farmers. DFC strives to create stable conditions for the Canadian dairy industry, today and in the future. PD
