What supply management means for Canadians

Article

Canadians should have the first and most important say in how we produce our food. Less dependence on other countries to meet our food needs means less uncertainty in times of global disruption or instability.

Supply management offers peace of mind to farmers and consumers.

By DFC - PLC, Communications Team

Our Country. Our Milk. 

Did you know that supply management is a Canadian success story? The concept was proposed here in the 1960s following a period of market volatility as a way to ensure a fair return for farmers and to meet domestic demand and officially established in the 1970s. Dairy, egg and poultry farmers operate under supply management to this day.

Supply management also creates many jobs on and off the farm – including veterinarians, animal nutrition experts, feed and equipment suppliers, truck drivers, inspectors, processors, retailers and administrators – just to name a few! In fact, Canada’s supply-managed sectors support nearly 431,000 full-time jobs and contribute $45.1 billion to Canada’s GDP. Of those numbers, dairy sustains 270,000 jobs and accounts for $28 billion in GDP.

To better understand supply management, it helps to break it down into three important pillars:

The right amount of food is produced to meet Canadian needs

At its core, supply management is about teamwork because farmers work together, agreeing to terms and conditions that provide a stable and predictable supply of high-quality milk. This helps consumers trust that the food they love will be available when they want it. An efficient and balanced supply to meet demand creates a resilient industry – something that is a win for consumers and farmers alike.

Une famille achète des produits laitiers

Supply management offers a fair return for farmers

Farmers collaborate to sell processors the milk, poultry and eggs they produce at a price that reflects their costs of production. This creates a fair return for farmers, but it also helps create stable prices for consumers. What’s more, if you consider how countries that don’t use a supply management system have to provide extra support for farms through subsidies, such as the U.S., it means, Americans pay twice for their dairy: once as taxpayers, and again as consumers.

Foreign imports are limited to ensure Canadians have access to healthy, safe, homegrown food

While a predictable amount of imports are allowed into Canada tariff-free under trade agreements, limiting foreign access to our market helps ensure  we can rely on Canadian farmers to meet our needs. That’s especially important in times of trade tensions and external pressures like supply chain disruptions, natural disasters or disease. Canadian dairy farmers are here to serve Canadians first.

A Canadian farmer walking through a milking parlour
Jeroen keeps a close eye on the dairy cows in the milking parlour in Alberta.

From farm to fork, Canadian dairy, eggs and poultry meet some of the world’s most stringent standards. What’s more, the peace of mind that comes from supply management allows farmers to invest in forward-thinking practices and facilities to produce some of the best food on the planet, right here at home.

While it can seem complex at first, when you think about it, what supply management means for Canadians is quite simple: supply management makes sure farmers can feed fellow Canadians and feed their families, too.

Learn more about supply management here. Have questions about the dairy industry in Canada? Visit Ask Dairy Experts.