BC Milk has been carefully reviewing the significant increase in demand for dairy products from the impact of the measures taken to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The Board is currently seeing higher than normal activity in the fresh dairy product markets due to the need for social distancing, with people eating more meals at home and the closure of the US Border for non-essential travel. In order to ensure that producers can maintain a steady supply of milk to processors, and therefore meet the needs of Canadians looking for healthy dairy products, the Board has implemented the following measures:
Incentive Days
In order to meet supply requirements during this time, the Board has issued the following incentive days to manage demand. Please note, these days are to be utilized in the month of issue and will not be allowed to be carried forward.
- March 2020 2 Days
- April 2020 3 Days
- May 2020 3 Days
Organic Milk Production -Sleeve
In order to meet current supply requirements, the Board will issue a 3% sleeve on all quota holdings for an effective period of March 1, 2020 –May 31, 2020. This sleeve will not impact the calculation for the September 1, 2020 sleeve.
Due to the uncertainty of the market impact on dairy during the crisis, the Board will be monitoring the situation closely and may need to implement further actions with short notice. We will continue to provide regular updates to producers on any further production changes.