CUSMA compensation announced

The federal government is providing $1.7 billion in compensation to supply-managed sectors for market access granted under the Canada-US-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA) that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020.

Agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement November 14 at a dairy farm in Quebec.

Dairy producers will benefit the most from the funding.

Ottawa will provide $1.2 billion in direct compensation to dairy producers over six years beginning in 2024 through the Dairy Direct Payment program, Bibeau said.

“The owner of a farm with 80 milking cows may receive compensation through a direct payment of about $106,000 in six yearly instalments on a declining scale,” the statement announcing the compensation stated. “These funds will give producers the flexibility to invest according to their individual needs,”

A further $300 million is earmarked for a new program to be developed in partnership with industry that Ottawa says will “support innovation and investment into large-scale projects to add value to solids-non-fat, a by-product of milk processing.”

Poultry growers will receive just $112 million through a top-up to the Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program. Originally established to provide compensation for market access lost under the CP-TPP and CETA trade deals with Canada’s Pacific Rim and EU trading partners, the program will now make $803 million available to growers over the next nine years.

Processors will also benefit from CUSMA compensation, receiving an additional $105 million through the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund to support investments in dairy, poultry and egg processing plants. Also originally established in recompense for market access provided under the CP-TPP and CETA trade deals, the fund is now worth $497.5 million.

Bibeau was chuffed by the announcement, noting that Ottawa has no intention to give away Canada’s market for dairy, poultry and eggs to foreign producers.

“We made a commitment to fully and fairly compensate the market losses suffered by dairy, poultry and egg producers and processors, and that is what we have done,” she said. “[I] reiterate our government’s commitment not to concede any further market shares under supply management during future trade negotiations.”

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23 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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5 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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6 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.