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8 THE RURAL VOICE
Robert Mercer
Seasonal milk production potential
A group of milk producers in BC
is in discussion with their provincial
milk board and the UBC Research
Farm to start a pilot project on the
feasibility of seasonal milk
production
within the
national supply
management
program.
A plan to
develop a
seasonal milk
production
system based on
forage feed,
makes good
economic sense
on Vancouver
Island where
weather is mild,
and the grazing
season much like that in New
Zealand.
This innovative idea can work,
producers were told, if all sectors of
the industry wish to make the
changes necessary for it to work.
Currently there are less than 100
milk producers on Vancouver Island
and that number is dropping. As
milk production potential drops the
expense of bringing altemative
sources of milk and milk products
onto the Island mount.
Seasonal milk production in
Ontario may not work, but for
Vancouver Island it may be the only
way to preserve the primary and
processing sectors of the industry.
The pilot project has the approval of
the BC Milk Producers' Association
and the Vancouver Island Dairy-
men's Association.
I attended a panel discussion that
was put on for producers and
industry participants in January, and
it became apparent that there was a
possibility for a pilot project to go
ahead on seasonal milk production.
It would be held on the UBC
Research Farm at Oyster River on
Vancouver Island.
There is no approval yet for
seasonal milk marketing, but the BC
Milk Marketing Board represent-
ative at the January meeting, John
Pruim said that they would work
with the UBC Research Farm on a
pilot project. Pruim said that this
would then "give the Board the
information needed to see if
seasonal milk production is feasible
on Vancouver Island."
The potential of all Island milk
producers switching to seasonal
production at once was not
acceptable to the Milk Board since
it would cause a milk shortage in
the winter. This would lead to
additional costs of transportation to
bring milk onto the Island in those
winter months when there was a
shortage.
Pruim pointed out the possible
difficulties of a market that failed to
fill its annual needs with those
requirements being filled either
from the U.S. or Alberta. This
would affect the integrity of the
national milk supply management
system, especially under the terms
of the North American Free Trade
Agreement.
The panel discussion produced
the impression that seasonal milk
production was possible, should be
considered, and producers kept
informed of progress from any
research results.
One of the best suggestions to
overcome the marketing bottleneck
of quotas and year-round even
production was delivered from the
floor. Here it was suggested that all
quotas on the Island be converted to
monthly quotas and traded for
specific months. This would leave
the total milk production produced
on the island constant by month and
give the producers the individual
option of producing milk for
whichever month they liked. The
price differential in the seasonal
cost of producing milk would then
be reflected in the price of the
quota, not the milk price.0
Robert Mercer was editor of the
Broadwater Market Letter and a farm
commentator in Ontario for 25 years.