Dairy NEP picks announced

This week marks the deadline for the four finalists in this year’s dairy New Entrant Program to confirm acceptance of the opportunity to begin production in 2025.

The four finalists, all from the Lower Mainland, include Lindsey Dirks, Clinton and Dionne Quesnel, Jared Romeyn, and Jonathan Wouda. The four were selected following interviews the BC Milk Marketing Board conducted with nine qualifying candidates picked at random this spring from 30 contenders who submitted applications this past winter.

The four have until August 2 to formally accept entry into the program and pay a non-refundable deposit of $1,000, which entrants may use when they first participate on the board’s quota exchange.

The four producers will have until December 31, 2025, to start production and meet the requirements to receive incentive quota from BC Milk.

Conventional producers receive 15 kg of Continuous Daily Quota (CDQ) at startup, plus up to 8 kg of matching CDQ provided on a 1:1 ratio basis during the 10 years of the program.

This year did not see a selection process for new organic producers. Three producers were selected last year and placed on a three-year waitlist to begin organic production should market conditions allow.
Despite the challenging economic environment for dairy producers, this year’s selection process attracted a similar response to last year, when 33 candidates applied for an opportunity to enter conventional production. The short list last year also included Clint Quesnel, underscoring the importance of persistence as well as a commitment to the opportunities the sector provides.

Recent investments in food security by Indigenous governments are also boosting interest in dairy production in these communities.

Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation (Canim Lake Band) are exploring the opportunity of having a couple of milk cows as part of Broken Rock Ranch, a project funded by the province’s New Relationship Trust.

BC Milk said it had yet to receive a request for quota from Tsq̓éscen̓, and did not comment on the process for Broken Rock to generate milk for First Nation use.