Shhh.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario is in the midst of losing battles over milk imports, but doesn't want the public to know.
Or, more likely, doesn't want its dairy=farming members to know.
The issue is the illegal pricing of milk to counteract imports of ingredients that were used to make lower-cost cheeses. The Dairy Farmers of Ontario knew, or certainly ought to have known, that pricing milk at a discount to either encourage or discourage international trade is a violation of Canada's World Trade Organization obligations.
It didn't reveal that to dairy farmers of the Canadian public, but simply went ahead with its scheme.
It was bound to unravel and it did within the context of the new North American trade agreement.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario has, in the process, upset a lot of people, and certainly the Americans who are now totally suspicious about milk pricing and marketing policies the marketing board operates.
The Americans are demanding full transparency. That's written into the new North American trade agreement.
Ironically, it means the Americans will learn more about milk pricing and marketing than either Ontario's dairy farmers or public have known.
Why should dairy farmers and the public care?
Dairy farmers ought to be really careful about their public image and support because supply management depends on public support. It's worth billions of dollars pea year, funded by the higher prices the Canadian public pays for milk and dairy products.
Secondly, the Canadian public ought to care because hundreds of millions is being doled out to the dairy industry as compensation for the new North American trade agreement.
And, in case you hadn't heard, even hundreds of millions is not enough to make the marketing board leaders gracious. Instead they are complaining that they are going to lose a a few millions because CUSMA is going to take effect July 1 instead of, as they hoped, Aug. 1.
As farm leaders have often chided the public, "don't complain with a full mouth!"
