Fourth round of compensation now available for Canadian dairy farmers

OTTAWA, ON, -  The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced that the fourth payment under the Dairy Direct Payment Program (DDPP) is now available to dairy producers.

Dairy farmers will receive compensation payments based on their milk quota. For example, the owner of an 80 head dairy farm will receive $38,000 in direct payment compensation. The compensation for this fourth round of payments totals up to $468 million.

To get their payment, producers must register through the Canadian Dairy Commission before March 31, 2023. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has mailed letters to all eligible dairy producers with instructions on the application process.

This fourth payment completes full and fair compensation to dairy producers for the impact of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The Government of Canada recently announced compensation of up to $1.2 billion over six years under the DDPP to account for the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

As of 2024, the owner of a farm with 80 milking cows may receive compensation through a direct payment of about $106,000 in six yearly instalments on a declining scale. These funds give producers the flexibility to invest according to their individual needs.

Through the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the Government of Canada announced up to $1.7 billion in compensation to supply-managed sectors for the impacts of CUSMA. With this announcement, the Government delivers on its commitment to fully and fairly compensate producers and processors who have lost market share under CETA, CPTPP and CUSMA. The total compensation will reach up to $4.8 billion.

The Government of Canada firmly believes that Canada's supply-managed sectors are the pillars of rural communities' vitality. The system provides producers with the opportunity to receive fair returns on their labour and investments, while consumers benefit from a steady supply of high-quality products.