From the Maritimes to the Prairies and the mountains of the West Coast, dairy producers across the country face their own unique challenges from year to year. One thing that’s consistent across the country is the pride in producing Canadian milk. Progressive Dairy talked with producers and professionals in several provinces to learn about the challenges, triumphs and opportunities found within 2025 thus far.
Prince Edward Island
Gordon Macbeath, Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island chair
“Overall, the industry in PEI is in a good place. The grass crop this year was good; we’ve seen consistent markets and steady progression. We’ve been amazed at the immigrants coming here to dairy – from Europe or Ontario or western Canada – if there’s a dairy for sale, it’s bought quickly. PEI is a great place to dairy and we’re excited to have others join us. We’re hopeful to see increased growth with the Market Growth Program – our producers would like more quota.”
New Brunswick
Wietze Dykstra, Dairy Farmers of New Brunswick chair
“In New Brunswick, we need more processing. We ship a lot of milk to Quebec and Ontario, and we’re seeing less quota on the exchange. In a way, that’s a good thing, as it means people are staying in business, but farmers who want to grow feel limited by quota availability. We’re seeing increased collaboration between the Maritime provinces due to recent policies, and overall, our producers seem content.”
Quebec
Daniel Gobeil, Producteurs de lait du Quebec chair
“In 2024, we worked on implementing the 2023-2030 Strategic Plan of the Producteurs de lait du Québec. An important goal of our strategic plan is to make sure that our farms are sustainable, profitable businesses in all regions of Quebec by 2030.
"To ensure that the milk we produce meets societal expectations, we also worked on implementing our sustainable development action plan based on three objectives: economic and social contribution, responsible agricultural production and the fight against climate change. In the same line, we kicked off the Carbon-Neutral Milk Living Laboratory, which aims to assist milk producers in improving their carbon balance.
"The required adaptation to ensure that the milk we produce meets societal expectations is an important challenge, whether it’s for animal welfare or reaching our carbon neutrality objectives. That adaptation on our farms to the impact of climate change is also already a major challenge. This aspect is also covered in our sustainable development action plan.
"Our organization and the dairy sector have strengths and opportunities that can be leveraged in the coming years. Our marketing model is more relevant than ever if we are to ensure food security for local consumers. Demand for dairy products continues to grow, despite an ever-growing range of alternative products. New technologies are also creating interesting opportunities for developing the sector.”
Ontario
Mark Hamel, Dairy Farmers of Ontario chair
“Given the current political environment, trade and economic uncertainty is a major disruption and concern for all industrial sectors, including agriculture and food. While the domestic dairy market has been largely stable, it is important for Ontario dairy producers to remain focused on policy frameworks in support of our goals to generate value through both increases in on-farm production and processing investments.
"Not only is the dairy industry the largest agriculture sector in Ontario, it is a dynamic, viable and sustainable sector that contributes 8.5 billion dollars to Ontario’s GDP, while supporting over 89,000 jobs and maintaining rigorous standards for high-quality milk and food safety. This year, we are celebrating six decades of unwavering commitment to dairy leadership and excellence in the marketing and production of milk in Ontario, maintaining the trust of consumers and confidence of government in DFO and Ontario dairy producers.
"Ontario dairy producers are driven by our shared goal of delivering long-term growth by creating the conditions for investment on Ontario dairy farms and processing. Given the trade uncertainty in the foreseeable future, Ontario dairy producers are looking to preserve the stability and predictability of supply management, enabling us as Canadian dairy to continue advancing work in securing investments in growth and innovation development, driving consumption of dairy and advancing sustainability efforts.”
Manitoba
Henry Holtmann, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba vice chair and Western Milk Pool chair
“In Manitoba, we’re currently looking at some dry, drought-like conditions. Crops are looking OK, but we need rain. Another challenge is finding and securing long-term labour. We also have some struggles with high input costs and inflation. However, we’re seeing a large number of consumers who are seeking products produced in Canada, and we’ve been able to meet that production demand. It’s great to see that demand grow and see consumers appreciate the value in dairy products – particularly in fluid milk sales.
“At Dairy Farmers of Manitoba, we’re focusing on communication between partnerships on all levels of the supply chain. Looking ahead, we’re excited for the opening of Dairy Innovation West and proud to be doing our part in environmental and economic sustainability. We eagerly anticipate any growth that might happen in the marketplace.”
Saskatchewan
Gordon Ell, SaskMilk Board chair
“Saskatchewan is facing a major drought and a short supply of feed, carried over from a dry season last year. However, we’ve seen better milk prices, increases in milk quota available and rebounding from higher interest rates. We’re looking forward to market growth, increased processing available and becoming more financially stable.”
Alberta
Stuart Boeve, Alberta Milk Board chair
“The past few years of drought are a concern for many producers here in Alberta – we’re seeing the effects in quality of feed. Trade uncertainty is also on producers' minds – not knowing what to expect is a concern of many and makes it hard to make decisions for each operation. However, we’ve seen a lot of market growth and are excited for Dairy Innovation West to be up and running. We look forward to seeing continued growth in markets and knowing what to expect as far as trade goes.”
British Columbia
Casey Pruim, BC Dairy Board chair
“Our biggest challenges are related to input costs. We are one of the highest-cost production provinces in Canada – land and transport are big influences of that. We also have seen a lot of weather challenges over the past few years; each part of the province has experienced fire, flood or drought, and in some places, all three.
“Despite these challenges, we are proud of our ability to meet the market where it's at and fill demand. We’ve seen some growth and are building strong relationships between provincial and local governments. We’re looking forward to the growth opportunities that will be available with Dairy Innovation West starting production this summer. We anticipate a high demand for butterfat and protein in our milk and are excited for the future.”
