The 2024 Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) annual general meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador featured two days of insightful speakers and engaged delegates. The topics included carbon markets, antimicrobial use and resistance, supply management’s place in a changing world, the power of the Blue Cow Logo and DFC’s value-chain relationship with the food service industry.

In his opening address, DFC President David Wiens praised dairy farmers for how they have responded to pressing issues, including the producers of the host province for forming the Newfoundland and Labrador Dairy Co-operative. “Although we may each be in a different place, we are all actively trying to reach the same goals as an industry, as a collective,” Wiens said. “One thing that I have taken away from all my discussions is your leadership, resilience, dedication to the future of our industry and understanding of the issues facing our sector.”

Wiens looked ahead at what it will take to build and shape the dairy industry of tomorrow. “The conditions affecting our sector are changing, and this keeps us on our toes,” he said. “From new governmental policies and the impact of climate change to new product competition and changing consumer behaviours, DFC’s work is in constant adaptation and evolution.

"The challenges we face will require adaptability, flexibility and alignment,” Wiens added. “Whether they are domestic or foreign, we need to face these challenges together.”

Politicians show their support for Canadian dairy farmers

The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, Newfoundland and Labrador and the minister of rural economic development, joined DFC Chief Sustainability Office Fawn Jackson for a talk on the opportunities in rural Canada. They discussed the importance of addressing rural economic development in rural Canada. Minister Hutchings praised dairy farmers for shining a light on broader issues. "You are the link that brings agriculture to the table – don't forget the great work that you do all across the country in bringing the awareness of how important agriculture is.”

The Honourable Gerry Byrne, member of Parliament for Humber – St. Barbe – Baie Verte, Newfoundland and Labrador and minister of fisheries, forestry and agriculture, welcomed attendees to his home province with a strong message of support for dairy farming in Canada. “The consistency of availability of Canadian milk product is an essential component not only of our economic security but our social security and our political security,” Minister Byrne said.

Reducing antimicrobial reliance and importance of heightened biosecurity measures

Daniel Lefebvre, chief operations officer of Lactanet and chief science adviser to the CEO at DFC, moderated a panel discussion on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among Dr. Herman Barkema, professor of epidemiology of infectious diseases at the University of Calgary; veterinarian Dr. Rob Tremblay; and producer and former DFC board representative Dave Taylor.

The panel looked at the worldwide concerns about infections that are resistant to antibiotics, a top 10 human health risk. AMR has increased due to many factors, including increased use of antibiotics in both human and cattle health management. All three participants spoke about the challenges involved in overcoming antimicrobial use on farms and how Canadian dairy farmers are successfully changing their approaches to treating illnesses such as mastitis in consideration of AMR. “You have done a great job by bringing the somatic cell count down, and it was all through prevention,” Barkema said.

In a follow-up discussion with Andrew Campbell, dairy farmer and co-host of The Canadian Podcow, Tremblay gave an update on the current state of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the U.S. and how Canada can best prepare for mitigation.

"Everybody plays a role in trying to identify it [when] it comes and be able to control it when it does," he said.

Canada's supply management system stands strong on the world stage

Executive Director of the California Dairy Campaign Lynne McBride, Australian dairy producer Ian Zandstra and U.S. dairy producer Joe Bragger joined DFC Board Director Greg Archibald of Nova Scotia for a discussion on international perspectives on our Canadian dairy system. All three guests brought unique perspectives on how a supply management model could bring stability to markets and help farmers being squeezed by deregulation.

In the U.S., McBride and Bragger said that the dairy industry is consolidating at a high rate to make up for the fluctuations of an unstable market and that an “incentive-based” program like supply management would help reduce this instability. “There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty day to day in what dairy farmers are paid [in the U.S.],” McBride said. “By having an incentive-based plan, we would have more stable milk prices and a thriving economy [like] we see here at a dairy farm level in Canada.”

“We are losing [farms] at a very, very rapid rate, and it’s absolutely devastating,” Bragger added. “Our county, in 1985, had about 880 dairy farms; today, it’s down to 70.”

Providing his perspective as a farmer who once worked under supply management, Zandstra spoke about witnessing firsthand the effects on family farms after Australia deregulated the dairy industry. "Keep what you've got; you've got a good system," he said. "It was inevitable in Australia; structurally you're not made the same. You have your challenges [with the] perception of supply management, but it does the community and yourselves good all around."

Dairy plays a key role across the value chain

Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), joined DFC CEO Jacques Lefebvre in a wide-ranging conversation on the value chain and how it relates to farmers, consumers and retailers. The RCC represents and advocates for retail companies in Canada. With this talk coming on the heels of Walmart and Costco signing on to the Grocery Store Code of Conduct, Brisebois discussed how the RCC is working to get every member of the supply chain talking and understanding the collective issues that all of them face. “If we’re trying to find solutions to emerging problems or challenges, we all need to be at the table,” she said. "Getting people at the table, talking, and getting them to understand what your real issues are and vice-versa makes the supply chain a hell of a lot stronger."

Adrian Fuoco, chief marketing officer for Pizza Pizza Limited, delivered a lively talk on the Blue Cow Logo’s importance to the pizza giant’s brand and its key values, including using high-quality local ingredients. Pizza Pizza has the largest Canadian market share, and 2023 was its best year ever. Fuoco shared how real Canadian dairy plays an essential role in this: In 2023, the company used 4.6 million kilograms of mozzarella cheese, 44,445 kilograms of cheese curds and 103,136 kilograms of cheese strings.

“Our quality message as a Canadian brand is around using quality Canadian ingredients,” Fuoco said. "That’s where our partnership with Dairy Farmers of Canada is so critical. We want people to know that we have 100 percent Canadian quality, that it’s a local product and that it’s Blue Cow-certified.”

Sustainability remains a timely topic for companies and farmers

Starbucks Canada’s supply chain manager, Juliana de van der Schueren; and head of social impact, public policy and sustainability, Ross Anderson, spoke about how operating directly with the dairy sector increases agricultural resiliency in light of climate change. They highlighted the necessity of working with farmer organizations to collaborate in a more sustainable value chain, from the coffee farms supplying beans to the dairy farms across Canada producing the milk that goes into Starbucks’ drinks.

“We have to recognize that farms are unique in the circumstances that they have, and not ‘one size fits all,'” Anderson said. “We want to collaborate with farms and the farming industry to figure out what’s right for them.”

Echoing his comments, de van der Schueren detailed the programs Starbucks has helped fund in their Canada-unique approach, such as the Benchmarking and On-Farm Greenhouse Gas Assessment Pilot programs begun by DFC, and Farmer Recognition funding with Farm Credit Canada. “We are taking the time to listen, to adapt, to collaborate with stakeholders [in order to] understand what’s going to work and what’s not going to work in Canada,” she said.

Marty Seymour, CEO of Carbon RX, provided a detailed explanation of burgeoning carbon markets. He explained that the greenhouse gases nitrogen and methane are being targeted as areas for improvement, and that’s creating both challenges and opportunities for the dairy sector. What’s more, when buyers seek credits from our sector, what they are buying is the “story,” not the math, he said, because the purchase goes to support a real farmer and their family. Seymour highlighted the benefits of carbon markets from a public perception, too. “We're a target as a sector because we’re easy to identify,” he noted, referring to public opinion on reducing carbon emissions. “There will be an environmental footprint to producing food, full stop. What can we do better or different?”

For a quick introduction on the carbon market, visit the farmer resources page on the DFC website.

All told, it was a lively, engaging and timely series of discussions and DFC would like to thank all our panelists, speakers, sponsors and attendees for their participation. We are delighted to share that Dairy Farmers of Ontario will host DFC’s 2025 annual general meeting in Toronto next summer – we look forward to seeing you there.