The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Dairy farmers dealing with quota cuts
Kate Mee steadies her stance as a herd favourite affectionately called My Girl rubs her heavy head against the laughing farmer.
It’s not uncommon for the friendly Brown Swiss to use humans as her personal scratching post.
“They all have their own personalities. Some you don’t go near because they’ll kick you,” says Allan Mee, Kate’s husband and business partner.
“They have their good days and bad days just like humans,” adds Kate.
My Girl is among the 50 or so milking cattle housed at Prospect Dairy Farms Ltd. in Clarence. The relatively small-scale dairy operation called the Mees back to Kate’s roots in the Annapolis Valley three years ago. The couple relocated from Alberta to raise their small children on a farm.
“The kids love it, too,” says Kate.
Allan, originally from New Zealand, has a background in sheep farming, and Kate grew up on a dairy farm. Her brother still farms in the nearby Annapolis Royal area.
It’s a job that keeps them on their toes, perhaps now more than ever.
HIT WITH REDUCTIONS
Dairy producers across Nova Scotia were hit by back-toback quota cuts. A three per cent reduction took effect April 1 and an additional two per cent was called for on May 1.
“Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia took action for the months of April and May to send a signal to all producers to slow down milk production, due largely to the distribution disruptions caused by government restrictions related to COVID-19,” said Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia general manager Brian Cameron.
Spring is considered the peak season for milk production, Cameron said.
“Quota adjustments are part of supply management’s commitment to produce enough but not too much milk to serve consumer needs. They typically happen two to three times each year to refine the levels of milk produced relative to changing markets.”
It’s a tough time to set quotas in an industry that relies on a supply management system.
“Never have we seen such fluctuation in demand for milk from one week to another, and despite the best efforts to manage production to align with consumer needs, bottlenecks resulted in milk having to be disposed at the farm, something no dairy farmer wants to see,” said Dairy Farmers of Canada president Pierre Lampron in a news release May 5.
Quota cuts felt by dairy producers across Canada have been linked to drastic dips in demand from schools, restaurants, coffee shops and hotels affected by closures or reduced hours in the wake of the pandemic.
‘A GUTTING FEELING’
When it comes to COVID19, the old adage claiming there’s “no use crying over spilt milk” simply doesn’t apply.
“Based on the quota cut, that’s kind of like turning the tap off, so there’s farmers that have had to dump milk and sell off cows,” says Kate.
It’s hard to think about raw milk going down the drain or being poured on farmers’ fields to add calcium to the soil as they continue to start work at 4:30 a.m. each day.
“Even if you ignore the monetary value of it, it’s just frustrating to see your product lose its demand,” says Allan.
Kate concurs.
“It’s just a gutting feeling that there is nothing you can really do.”
They’ve kept one part-time employee to help out at the farm while they’ve managed child-care needs, cow care and self-care during the pandemic.
“There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes to produce a four-litre jug of milk that people pick up at the grocery store,” Kate says.
Allan says there are a variety of factors that will have to be considered before a monetary value can be assigned to the financial impact of COVID-19 on their operations.
“It’s quite a hit,” he says.
PERISHABLE FOOD DILEMMA
Prospect Dairy Farms, however, was in the fortunate position of wanting to add to the herd at a time when other farmers were looking to do the opposite.
The Annapolis County farmers hope some good will come out of the hard lessons learned in these unprecedented times.
Kate, for one, would like to see someone take on the challenge of figuring out how perishable food can be repurposed within 24 hours if there are sudden market or processing challenges that would result in large quantities of a product being wasted.
“You can’t just turn off the taps. One day the cows are milking fine, you can’t just say, ‘Girls, take a holiday. Stop milking,’” Allan jokes.
“They’re going to milk no matter what.’”
Consumers wishing to support Nova Scotia’s farmers can buy local and shop at stores farmers turn to for supplies to keep those businesses open.
“We need people to drink milk and continue that trend,” says Kate.
“Eat ice cream in the summer.”
They’re hopeful market conditions will eventually rebound to the point that what has been lost can be recovered. They plan to continue working toward their longterm vision for their farm as they’re able.
“Every day is different,” says Allan.
“There’s not a single day that’s the same, even though dairy farming is very routine.”