Dairy: Introduction Flashcards
What is the importance of dairy farming?
- increasing worldwide
- Canada & USA: highest yields/cow
- significant growth forecasted in South Asia & Africa
What is important about Canadian dairy production?
- gradual annual increase
- second largest animal agriculture sector (after red meat)
What does the Canadian dairy industry do?
- imports from USA, UK, NZ, Australia
- exports to USA, KSA, Australia, Kuwait
- genetic quality of Canadian Dairy Stock -> has genetic markets in USA, Spain, Germany, Brazil, & Australia
- 25% of Canadian beef is from dairy breed animals
How has herd size changed?
- herd size has increased
- Consolidation: fewer farms, fewer cows, larger & more efficient dairies
- total milk produced has increased
- > 4.5 fold increase in efficiency since 1967
What are the future demographics of the Canadian dairy industry?
- older producers
- what if major changes happen in QC? large proportion of the industry & smaller herds here
- potential rapid increase in herd size
What is the free-market system?
- price determined by supply & demand
- in NZ
- government subsidizes diary income
What is the supply-managed system?
- in Canada
- milk production set to meet domestic needs
- production controlled by quotas
- price set to reflect cost of production - aims for a fair price for the farmer
Where did supply management arise from?
producer groups
- response to market instability
- provincial boards had greater leverage
- only w/in province
- Canadian Dairy Commission (1969)
Why is managing the supply needed?
needed w/ large numbers of producers
what is an overview of the system of supply management?
- planned domestic production
- administering pricing
- import controls
What is the milk quota?
- the producer gains the right to sell a specified amount of milk for a pre-agreed price
- milk quota is calculated by production of butterfat
What are the types of quota?
- fluid: provincially controlled to meet the demand of fresh milk
- market share: federally set, provincially administered for manufacturing
How does supply-management work?
- producers pay to cover administration of system
- continuous quota: producers either in positive or negative credit (over or under production)
- # of credit days = (actual butterfat production - monthly quota)/daily quota
- > 0 positive credit days: no $$$
- > 15 negative credit days: cannot recoup lost credit days (lose quota)
Why are quota credits transferred?
- allows flexibility btwn producers
- maintains provincial production
- cannot transfer beyond legal limits
What are incentive days?
- occur when provincial milk supply low
- extra credits provided
- allow for increased production w/o running into positive credits
How is quota bought & sold?
- private sales: entire quota must be sold to a single individual
- no producer may possess > 4% provincial quota
What is transfer exchange of quota in the dairy industry?
- operated by SaskMilk
- offers to sell & buy at prices requested by producers
- board establishes market clearing price
What is the future of supply management in the dairy industry? What would happen w/ deregulation in Canada?
- many jurisdictions are deregulated: Australia, NZ (free market), USA (Free market), Europe
- getting rid of supply management would either take a lot of money away from dairy producers or they would require compensation for this
- milk prices would get a lot more volatile w/ this: large dairies tend to be the ones that can handle volatility -> contraction in the amount of dairies (larger & fewer)
What are societal issues related to the dairy industry?
- food safety
- milk quality testing
- antimicrobial use & resistance
- animal welfare
- the environment
What is the proAction food safety module in the dairy industry?
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Program
- mandatory to produce milk
What are critical control points for food safety in the Dairy industry?
- milking treated animals
- cooling & storage of milk
- shipping animals
What are the objectives of food safety in the dairy industry?
- prevent pathogens & pharmaceuticals from entering the food supply
- includes vet natural health products
How is milk quality testing done?
- test each pickup from farm
- needs to be negative for vet drug residues & antimicrobial substances
- aerobic bacteria count (standard plate count) < 50,000 cfu/mL
- Somatic Cell Count (SCC) < 400,000 cells/mL
- freezing point < -0.525 C
How is antimicrobial resistance prevented in the dairy industry?
- significant changes/restrictions in antimicrobial use
- extralabel use only w/ written vet directions (proAction food safety module)
- AMR surveillance (Canadian Dairy Network for Antimicrobial Stewardship & Resistance - CaDNetASR)
How does the dairy industry regulate animal welfare?
- Code of Practice, proAction Animal Care & Biosecurity Modules
- requirements & recommendations are laid out
- categories for housing, feed & water, animal health & biosecurity, handling & shipping animals, staff training & communication
- formal welfare audits (scheduled & random) that look at BCS, Hock, Knee, Neck, & mobility scores
Why is efficiency key to the dairy industry minimizing its impact on the environment?
- higher production = decreased Green House Gas (GHG)/ kg milk
How has the carbon footprint in Canada changed since the 40s?
- it has decreased
what is in the proAction environment module of the dairy industry?
- environmental farm plan
- questionnaire on soil health, greenhouse gases, biodiversity, silage seepage, plastic waste
- wastewater management
- manure storage
- soil nutrient management
