Milk Producer - December 2009 - (Page 4)

EDITOR’SNOTES By Bill Dimmick A stable share Few farmers have the economic stability Canadian dairy producers can count on T elephone calls and e-mails from readers are always welcome, especially when they want to make a point or discuss our magazine’s content. When my phone rang several weeks ago, a producer from northwestern Ontario wanted to take issue with a news item we published in our October issue. This reader had read a story in The Manitoba Cooperator, a farm newspaper based in Winnipeg, about the same survey cited in our report. Three general farm organizations in the Prairie provinces had commissioned the survey on retail food prices and the farmer’s share of the consumer’s dollar in four major food groups, including dairy. He wondered about the accuracy of our report. After our conversation, I had a chance to look up The Co-operator’s article via the Internet. After reading it, I could understand our reader’s confusion. We had accurately reported the dairy farmer’s share of the consumer’s food dollar rose between June 2008 and June 2009. The Co-operator’s article accurately reported the share of the consumer’s dollar for all farmers went down during the period. It barely mentioned the dairy aspect. Since our readers are dairy farmers, we focused on the dairy findings. This isn’t a criticism of The Co-operator’s article. It was aimed at a broader farmer audience. My conversation with our northwestern Ontario reader is a reminder of an ongoing worldwide trend showing all farmers as a group getting a lower share of the consumer’s dollar in their respective countries. Volatility is also an issue, particularly for dairy THE MILK PRODUCER is published monthly by Dairy Farmers of Ontario 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5N 2L8 EDITOR: Bill Dimmick ASSISTANT EDITOR: Sharon Laidlaw Co-ordinated by Communications and Planning Division, Bill Mitchell, Assistant Director. Change of address notices should be sent to: THE MILK PRODUCER 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 2L8. Subscription rates: $25.20 for one year, $46.20 farmers. Their share of the consumer’s dollar goes up and down from year to year in some countries, and just down in others, according to statistics compiled by the IFCN, a respected international research organization. In countries where governments have deregulated their dairy industries, lower milk prices paid to producers haven’t necessarily translated into lower prices for consumers, reports indicate. As a result, producers get a lower share of the consumer’s dollar while retailers and processors take higher proportions. A U.S. study shows a widening gap between the dairy indexes for retail and farm prices since 1980. The gap narrowed briefly in 2007 when farm prices shot up in the U.S. and the world, but resumed the same course in 2008. In the European Union, government officials launched a probe into supermarket dairy prices in September. As dairy farmers suffered through low prices, there was hardly a blip in the prices consumers had to pay. The numbers for Canada contrast with those patterns. Your share from 1996 to 2007 basically stayed about the same during that period, increasing modestly some years, but remaining just above 60 per cent. Dairy farmers in other countries generally don’t approach that level. The obvious reason Canadian dairy farm families receive a stable share of the consumer’s dollar is supply management. This stability continues to serve you, processors and consumers well. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policies of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by The Milk Producer or Dairy Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised. The Milk Producer welcomes letters to the editor about magazine content. Phone: (905) 821-8970 Fax: (905) 821-3160 bdimmick@milk.org slaidlaw@milk.org Website: Go to publications at www.milk.org E-mail: for two years and $63.00 for three years in Canada (includes GST), $36 per year in the U.S., $36 per year overseas. Single copy: $2.50. Make cheques payable to Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Canada Post Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40063866. Return postage guaranteed. Circulation: 10,000. ISSN 0030-3038. Printed in Canada. NATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER James Fitzgerald, 257 Huntingdon Avenue, Stratford, Ontario N5A 6P7. Toll-free advertisers only: 1-888-460-6212 Phone (519) 273-9369/Fax (519) 273-9289 E-mail: jfitzger@milk.org 4 | December 2009 | MilkPRODUCER http://www.milk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milk Producer - December 2009

Milk Producer - December 2009
Contents
Editor's Notes
DFO Chair's Message
Dairy Update
Industry Roundup
DFC Promotion
Office Management
Seven Issues That Matter
Herd Health
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'N' Noted
Back Forty

Milk Producer - December 2009