Third round of compensation now available for Canadian dairy farmers

December 20, 2021 – Ottawa, Ontario – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced that the third payment under the Dairy Direct Payment Program (DDPP) is now available to producers. The owner of a farm with 80 dairy cows will be awarded compensation in the form of a direct payment of approximately $38,000 each year.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has mailed letters to all eligible dairy producers with directions on how to access the payment. Based on their milk quota, dairy farmers will receive compensation payments totaling up to $469 million for this fiscal year. To receive their payment, producers must register through the Canadian Dairy Commission prior to March 31, 2022. Another $468 million will be available in 2022-2023.

The Government of Canada continues to deliver on its commitment to provide $1.75 billion to dairy producers for market access concessions made under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Payments are being made on an accelerated schedule of four years instead of eight, with all payments set to be made by 2023.

Earlier this year, the Government also launched compensation programs designed to help drive innovation and market development for Canada's 4,800 chicken, egg, broiler hatching egg and turkey producers, totaling $691 million over ten years. The Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program will provide nearly $647 million to support poultry and egg farmers through on-farm investments. The Market Development Program for Turkey and Chicken will provide over $44 million to help increase domestic demand and consumption of Canadian turkey and chicken products through industry-led promotional activities. These programs respond directly to requests from producer associations and provide full and fair compensation for market impacts from the CPTPP.

To help processors of all supply-managed agricultural products adapt to CETA and CPTPP, Budget 2021 proposed a further $292.5 million for a Processor Investment Fund to support private investment in processing plants. Further program details are expected to be available in the coming months.

Within the next year, the Government of Canada is also committed to working with supply-managed sectors to determine full and fair compensation for the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

The Government of Canada understands the crucial role of Canada’s supply-managed sectors, which support our family farms and the vitality of our rural communities. Despite many challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and impacts of severe weather conditions across the country, these farmers continue to demonstrate their commitment to providing high-quality products and helping to ensure a strong Canadian economy and agriculture sector.