More cash for dairy, poultry and egg farmers hurt by trade deals

OTTAWA — Canadian egg and poultry farmers who’ve lost domestic market share due to two recent free trade agreements will soon have access to $691 million in federal cash, Canada’s agriculture minister announced Saturday.

Marie-Claude Bibeau shared details of the long-awaited funds in a virtual news conference.

“Today we position our young farmers for growth and success tomorrow,” she said.

The money follows a previously announced $1.75 billion for the dairy sector linked to free trade deals with Europe and countries on the Pacific Rim, one that came into effect in 2017 and the other in 2018.

The dairy sector funds were to flow over eight years, and the first $345 million payment was sent out last year.

But on Saturday Bibeau announced a schedule for the remaining payments that will see the money flow over three years beginning with $468 million in 2020-21, $469 million in 202122 and $468 million in 2022-23.

Bibeau said the most recently announced funds for dairy farmers amount to an average farm of 80 cows receiving a direct payment of $38,000 in the first year.

David Wiens, vice president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, said the money will help farms make investments for the future. “I think particularly for the younger farmers who have really struggled since these agreements have been ratified, they can actually now see opportunities, how they can continue to make those investments on the farm so that they can continue on,” he said.

The payments are based on formulas devised by working groups formed after the trade deals were signed, Bibeau said.

What that means is the money doesn’t reflect precisely how much the various industries have lost due to the deals, she said. “It’s really our best understanding of the future impact and to give them the possibility to adapt.”