Dairy Industry Act Introduced

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ernest Fage today introduced new legislation that will give the province's dairy industry more flexibility. The Dairy Industry Act will allow farmers to create efficiencies and expand the industry while ensuring that consumer interests are protected.

"This is balanced, progressive legislation that recognizes the changing national environment that our dairy farmers work within," said Mr. Fage. "It allows dairy farmers more control over how their industry is run and ensures that those issues that impact consumers are still regulated by the government. That means there will no effect on the current price of milk Nova Scotians pay in the grocery store or change home delivery services."

The Dairy Industry Act creates a new farmer organization, the Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia, and paves the way for phasing out the Nova Scotia Dairy Commission. The current Natural Products Marketing Council, which regulates provincial marketing boards, will take over the regulatory functions of the commission that affect processors and consumers. The council will delegate decisions dealing with the on-farm production of milk to the new farmer organization. This will eventually eliminate one government commission.

Similar legislation has been enacted in six other provinces: the other Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

Specifically, the legislation outlines the following roles and responsibilities:

The Natural Products Marketing Council will regulate milk quality, distribution, retail price, and the licensing of processors and distributors. It will also be responsible for delegating authority for on-farm production to the Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia.

• As delegated by the council, the Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia will have authority to regulate the on-farm production of milk and the price for raw milk (milk sold to processors). Any decision the farmers make regarding the price of raw milk must be ratified by the council.

• The Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia will also be responsible for selling raw milk to processors. Under the current system, processors buy raw milk directly from farmers. Agreements will ensure that processors have an adequate supply of milk.

The Council and the Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia will also be signatories to national agreements. Right now, only the Dairy Commission has authority to enter into national agreements on behalf of the industry.

The legislation was drafted at the request of the Nova Scotia Milk Producers Association and industry discussions have been ongoing since 1998. Government has held extensive consultations with both farmers and processors since May 2000.

The proposed changes will be phased in over a maximum of 18 months, with sections of the act proclaimed to coincide with the transition of responsibilities.

Dairy is the largest agricultural sector in Nova Scotia. Its 360 dairy farmers produce approximately 170 million litres of milk per year with a farm-gate value of around $100 million.