Farmers defend impending price hike on dairy products

Wingham, Ont. -

Come February, Canadian dairy farmers will be paid more for the milk their cows produce. That likely means the cost of milk, cheese and yogurt will be going up next year.

“Believe it or not I’m grumbling too. This brings no joy to any dairy farmer, I think, to see this increase. Partly because, guess what happens when I go to the grocery store, those prices are going to be up because I’m a big dairy consumer as well,” says Ontario dairy farmer Andrew Campbell.

The Canadian Dairy Commission, has approved an 8.4 per cent increase in farm gate prices for milk, about $0.06 a litre, come February. Food analysts suggest that will lead to a 10-15 per cent increase in retail prices for dairy products.

“You need several litres of milk to produce one kilo of cheese. So as you can imagine, things can get pretty expensive in the dairy section of the grocery store,” says the director of Dalhousie’s Food Analytics Lab, Sylvain Charlebois.

But, it’s not about pumping up profits, says the head of Dairy Farmers of Canada, Pierre Lampron. Prices for most farm inputs have increased and supply management means farmers are paid, on a controlled scale, for what they produce.

“Among other costs, food for our animals has increased by 27 per cent over the past two years. The price of fuel is up 30 per cent, seed 20 per cent. We are not immune to inflation,” he says.

“The reason this increase has come as necessary, right now, is the reality of at least trying to cover some of those costs,” says Campbell.

It’s expected consumers will see the effects of the increased cost of milk early in 2022.