The New Entrant Program (NEP)
The policy objective of a New Entrant Program (NEP) is simply to encourage and facilitate people to enter the dairy industry as new producers. The Board’s NEP program provides 15kgs of Continuous Daily Quota (CDQ) as incentive quota to start milk production, plus up to 8kgs of matching CDQ provided on a 1:1 ratio basis during the 10 years of the program.
The other higher-level objectives that the Board looks to achieve through a new entrant program include:
- Renewal—promoting innovation and new ideas within the industry (a natural outcome of the diversification of the producer base).
- Sustainability—ensuring the ongoing milk supply in BC; and
- Addressing the consolidation of farms in the province
The Application Deadline and Random Draw
The application deadline for those interested in participating in the NEP was February 5, 2021. The 2021 NEP selection process is for those interested in starting milk production in 2022. The Board received 79 completed application forms by the deadline.
The Council of Marketing Boards (COMB) was engaged to execute the random draw on the Board’s behalf. The draw was held on Monday February 8, 2021 to select the ten candidates who will be interviewed by the NEP Selection Committee. The ten candidates were randomly drawn by an online generator. The draw was carried out by the Manager of the Council of Marketing Boards (COMB) and observed by both a BCMMB staff person and a third-party observer.
The ten candidates, who will move to the next stage of the NEP selection process, are:
- Wyatt Bates
- Henry Veldhuis
- Derrick & Rebecca Tolsma
- Kristopher Heppner
- Gerritt Verwoert
- Adrian & Kelsey Oosterhoff
- Peter & Deborah Torenvilet
- Christina Lyn & Jackson Matschke
- Eldon Reynolds
- Rebekah & William de Vroomen
Next Steps for those Selected (and Not) in the Random Draw
The Selection Committee will ultimately recommend three candidates to the Board for entry into the NEP for 2022, following the interview process. Prior to the interviews, all ten candidates must provide documentation, including a business plan to the Board, by the June 1, 2021 document deadline, in order to be interviewed and further considered.
The selected New Entrants will begin milk production by December 31, 2022, in order to qualify for participation in the program. For more complete details, please refer to the NEP section of the BCMMB’s website: New Entrant Program (NEP)
For those who were not selected in the draw, please be aware that there is no waitlist.
However, the Board will hold another NEP random draw in early 2022, and you are welcome to enter the random draw again at that time. The dates/details for the 2022 process will be announced and posted to the Board’s website in fall 2021. If you are not already signed up for BCMMB Notices, you can do so here: Subscribe here
The Board thanks everyone for expressing their interest and entering the draw.