Quebec leaders firm on supply management

Sep 05, 2018

The leaders of the four main parties appeared together to support dairy farmers

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

While the four main political parties in Quebec may have different visions for the province, representatives of the parties sent a strong message in support of dairy farmers.

With only a month go before the provincial election, members of the four primary political parties stood together on Friday to defend supply management.

“It was very clearly said that we will defend supply management, which is not an old system – it’s a modern system,” Premier Philippe Couillard and leader of Quebec’s Liberal party, told reporters Friday, The Canadian Press reported. “There’s no text in the world that says Quebec and Canada should be the dumping ground of (dairy) oversupply from the U.S.A.”

“Supply management is non-negotiable,” Manon Masse, a spokesperson for Quebec Solidaire, said during the press conference, Journal de Montreal reported.

The system helps “ensure equity in Quebec and Canada, and to protect these families who are struggling because they work hard,” she said.

Jean-Francoise Lisee, leader of the Parti Quebecois, and Sylvie D’Amours, agriculture critic for the Coalition Avenir Quebec, also attended the meeting.

The dairy industry contributes about $8.7 billion to Quebec’s GDP annually and employs more than 100,000 people.

Ending, or even altering supply management, could have a large effect on the industry.

The dairy industry needs the leaders to stand united and “send a clear message to Mr. Trudeau’s team and negotiators,” Marcel Groleau, president general of the Union of Agricultural Prodeucers, said during the meeting, Journal de Montreal reported.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.