Dairy farmers stage protest in NDG over U.S. milk imports

MONTREAL – Dairy farmers who are upset over imported milk from the U.S. were up at the crack of dawn Tuesday, but instead of doing their everyday chores, they were on the picket lines.

Dairy producers from as far as the Beauce showed up with hay bales, flags and even a manure spreader.

Farmers argued the imports are hurting them; they’re losing money and potentially their jobs.

“We’re a family farm and I lost $56,000 in a year and a half,” said Peter Stregel, of Stregel and Sons Farm.

“It can’t go on much longer. There’s going to be bankruptcies and family farms going out of business.”

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Farmers are especially upset over imports of diafiltered milk, a type of skim milk specially treated to have a high protein content.

The problem is when the American product arrives at the Canadian border.

The Canadian Border Services Agency labels it as a milk ingredient.

When it gets to the processing plant, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency re-categorizes it as fresh milk.

The diafiltered milk can then be used in cheeses and yogurts.

Canadian producers insisted they can’t compete with the cheaper American product.

“Where my farm is, we see these truck coming in all the time,” said Christian Kaiser of Kaiser Farms.

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“This is replacing part of my milk.”

Farmers said the import system doesn’t need to be confusing.

“The solution is simple for the government,” said Kaiser.

“If it comes through the border as an ingredient, it should be an ingredient once it’s in the factory.”

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The NDP is working on a motion to clear up the laws, calling for stricter regulations on how the milk is labeled and asking the federal government to “recognize the magnitude of the economic losses to Canadian dairy producers from the importation of diafiltered milk, which totalled $220 million in 2015.”

Dairy producers argued the current enforcement of the law is making their hard work a joke.

“Americans must be laughing at us,” said Stregel.

“We look like a bunch of clowns. Getting to the border, saying it’s concentrate and once we get to the border it’s fresh milk. Put in as much as you want but something is wrong.”