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, 2020. The 2020 NEP selection process is for those interested in starting milk production in 2021. The Board received 77 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 Friday February 7, 2020 to select the eight candidates who will be interviewed by the NEP Selection Committee. The eight 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 eight candidates, who will move to the next stage of the NEP selection process, are:
- Adriel Westeringh
- Kelvin and Katie Lagemaat
- Jeremy and Melissa De Bruyn
- Marlayna Van Hoepen
- Breanna and Jarrod Simpson
- Nelliese Klop
- Coral Anne Dueck
- Cody Larson
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 2021, following the interview process. Prior to the interviews, all eight candidates must provide documentation, including a business plan to the Board, by the June 1, 2020 document deadline, in order to be interviewed and further considered.
The selected New Entrants will begin milk production by December 31, 2021, 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 2021, and you are welcome to enter the random draw again at that time. The dates/details for the 2021 process will be announced and posted to the Board’s website in fall 2020. 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. The Board will run another process in 2021 for production starts in 2022. The application and subsequent selection process run annually.
For any questions regarding this Notice, please contact: vcrites@bcmilk.com