Holy cow!  Is U.S. President Donald Trump mad at Canadian dairy producers.

Trump recently told a group of Wisconsin dairy farmers that "in Canada, some very unfair things have happened to our dairy farmers."  But a southern Alberta dairy producer says the U.S. should look to at their dairy industry to fix their own problems. 

Pietsia Huijizer owns Huntcliff Dairy at Olds, where they milk about 130 holstein and guernsey cows.  Huijizer says, "Mr. Trump is looking at the situation on his side of the border and sees that the American policies aren't really working out because they have huge production and like to export, where in Canada we produce what we need for our own market so it's a different situation.  We introduced a new policy so we can use more of our own milk and milk ingredients so we don't have to import anymore so they've lost a little market there.  If you produce too much and you can't ship over the border anymore then you have to sell it in your own country.  If the market isn't there, then you have a problem."

On Thursday, Trump again attacked the Canadian dairy industry and called the NAFTA free trade agreement a disaster for the U.S.

Huijizer says Trump's comments don't really worry her.  "Not so much," she says.  "Mr. Trudeau said yesterday again that he's supporting the supply - management that we have in Canada, the system that we operate in as dairy farmers, so we have the government backing us.  We're one of the few countries in the world that still have this system, and it's proving its merits.  In all the other countries in the world where they've abandoned this system the dairy farmers are really struggling.  They can't make ends meet and they have to produce for the world market price which is way lower than the cost price."

Huijizer says there's a bit of jealousy arond the world that Canada still has this system.  "It's really working well and I'm glad our Prime Minister sees the value of it and is backing us up."

According to Huijizer, Trump's rhetoric is a result problems in the U.S. system.  "If you produce more than you can sell, then you have a problem. We sympathize with the farmers in Wisconsin who are kind of a victim of this problem that occured, because this is not what they deserve.   Mr. Trump will have to talk to his industry and see what the real problems are, and try to fix them, and not blame Canada for an internal problem."

 

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