Maple Ridge farm fined for raw milk sales

Raw milk remains off the table for dairy producers, with the BC Milk Marketing Board (BCMMB) taking action against a Maple Ridge producer for illicit sales.

An undercover investigation of Maple Ridge producer Kevin Davison resulted in Davison Farms ordered to pay $7,512 in expenses related to a show-cause hearing last month. The farm has also had its licence suspended for three months and faces quota restrictions for two years.

The hearing put the onus on Davison to “show cause as to why the Board should not take action” following an investigation that successfully bought raw, unpasteurized milk from the farm on three separate occasions in February and March.

“BCMMB staff attended the farm on March 16, 2026, and interviewed Kevin Davison, who admitted selling milk directly from the farm,” the board said in an April 8 memo to industry.

Neither BCMMB general manager Rob Delage nor Davison was immediately available for comment.

The matter came to light following an anonymous e-mail complaint in February.

Five years ago, the board took action against Agassiz producer Adrie Stuyt of Hol-Amer Farms for selling raw milk to a commercial buyer in Surrey.

“Stuyt conceded that over seven years, he had received approximately $50,000 from sales of milk other than through the Milk Board,” according to BC Farm Industry Review Board (BC FIRB) filings related to Stuyt’s appeal of BCMMB’s actions.

Stuyt said he was receiving 40 cents a litre from the buyer at the time he was caught.

By selling milk outside the regulated system, where revenues are pooled, the board claimed Stuyt had cost producers as a whole $195,185 and ordered him to repay this amount. It also ordered Stuyt to pay $33,266 to cover the cost of BCMMB’s investigation and hearings into the matter.

The BC Dairy Association, which stood as an intervenor in the appeal before FIRB, said illicit raw milk sales are a direct threat to supply management.

“Dairy farmers who benefit from the system have an obligation to comply with the restrictions that make the system functional,” BC Dairy said in its submission. “If individual farmers believe they can personally do better by selling milk outside the quota system, then pricing stability is lost, and all dairy farmers are worse off.”

 

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